Correctional Officer Wayne Thomas "Cotton" Morgan

Wayne Thomas "Cotton" Morgan

Officer Wayne Morgan was shot and killed outside of the Roane County Courthouse.

Officer Morgan and his partner were loading prisoners into a transport van after a court appearance, when the wife of one of the inmates drove up and opened fire with a shotgun, striking Officer Morgan in the abdomen. Officer Morgan's partner returned fire as the escaping prisoner climbed inside his wife's vehicle.

The woman and her inmate husband, who had served two years of a 35 year sentence for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault, fled the scene in the vehicle but switched cars a short distance away. The were apprehended the next day in Ohio.

Officer Morgan was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he succumbed to his wounds.

On September 18, 2007, the woman was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Her husband was convicted of Officer Morgan's murder and received the same sentence March 9, 2009.

Officer Morgan was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and had served with the Tennessee Department of Correction for 28 years. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. He is also survived by a brother, niece, and nephew, all of whom work for the Tennessee Department of Correction.