Public Safety
Inmate Escapes Northwest TN Prison; Truck Found Tuesday in Marion, IL
Jacob Morley, 28, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex near Tiptonville, Tennessee late Sunday night by slipping through a fence in his prison clothes. He stole a truck from a nearby farm and abandoned it behind a strip mall in Marion, Illinois on Tuesday; authorities have received no credible tips about his current whereabouts. The escape underscores ongoing problems at the prison, including 470 open staff positions among a 6,000-person workforce and recent violence leading to 19 prosecution cases involving five inmate deaths. Morley is serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of co-worker Cody Birchfield in Carter County, Tennessee.