The Kingston courthouse shooting was a fatal shooting that took place on August 9, 2005, at the Roane County Courthouse in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, United States. It resulted in the death of a

Tennessee Department of Correction The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a United States Cabinet, Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government responsible for the oversight of more than 20,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's fourteen prisons, three of w ...

transport officer, and the wounding of another officer. The perpetrator, Jennifer Forsyth Hyatte (born February 11, 1974), began shooting immediately after her husband, George, pleaded guilty to a

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

charge in the courthouse. Jennifer Hyatte is currently serving a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

without the possibility of

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. George Hyatte pleaded guilty to

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

in the shooting in 2009 and was sentenced to life in prison as part of a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

to avoid the death penalty.

The shooting

At approximately 10:00 a.m., after a

court hearing In law, a hearing is a proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer, such as a government agency or a legislative committee. Description A hearing is generally distinguished from a trial in that it is usually shorter and ...

Tennessee Department of Corrections The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government responsible for the oversight of more than 20,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's fourteen prisons, three of which are privately mana ...

transport officer Wayne "Cotton" Morgan was fatally shot three times by Jennifer Forsyth Hyatte, whose husband, George Hyatte, pleaded guilty to a charge of

. Officer Morgan and his partner were loading prisoners into a transport van after a court appearance, when Jennifer Forsythe Hyatte drove up and opened fire with a handgun, striking Officer Morgan three times in the abdomen. Officer Morgan's partner returned fire as the escaping prisoner climbed inside his wife's vehicle. Jennifer Forsythe Hyatte was a former nurse at a prison where George Hyatte had been an inmate. She had been fired after she was found sneaking food to George. 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. On August 10, the Chevrolet Venture used was found in the parking lot of an Econo Lodge in

Erlanger, Kentucky Erlanger is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It had a 2010 United States Census, 2010 census population of 18,368. Erlanger is part of the Cincinnati metropolita ...

, but neither Hyatte was found. The same night the Hyattes were charged with first-degree murder.

Capture

On August 10, 2005, around 10:00 p.m., the Hyattes were captured at an

America's Best Value Inn Vantage Hospitality Group Inc. was an American hotel corporation, operating hotels in the United States and internationally. Its brands include Best Value Inn and Lexington by Vantage. In 2016, Vantage Hospitality Group was acquired by Red Lion Hot ...

located in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The couple was captured after a cab driver named Mike Wagers drove them from

, to a Best Value Inn.

Court proceedings

On September 17, 2007, Jennifer Hyatte pleaded guilty to

and was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

without the possibility of

. According to the Tennessee Department of Corrections website, her TOMIS (Tennessee Offender Management Information System) number is 00394869, her imprisonment began on 10 August 2005 and she is incarcerated at the

Tennessee Prison for Women The Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, formerly the Tennessee Prison for Women, is a Tennessee Department of Correction prison for women located in Nashville, Tennessee.Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. As a condition of the

which allowed her to avoid the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, she agreed to testify against George Hyatte. However her testimony was not required because subsequently, George Hyatte did not contest the charges made against him. On March 9, 2009, he pleaded guilty to all charges, including the first-degree murder of Officer Wayne "Cotton" Morgan. As a result, George Hyatte was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.George Hyatte pleads guilty to killing prison guard during escape » Knoxville News Sentinel
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References

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External links

* CNN.com . "Courthouse Shooting Leaves Officer Dead." CNN transcript, draft Tony Harris, host. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/09/lol.01.html, 9 Aug 2005. Accessed 30 May 2006. * Dill, Amanda, Producer. "National memorial adds Tennessee officers killed in line of duty," AP, WBIR.com, http://www.wbir.com/news/archive.aspx?storyid=34291, 13 May 2006, 11:56:27 PM. Accessed 30 May 2006. * Silence, Michael, "Breaking News: Courthouse Shooting," ''Knox News'' nline version of ''Knoxville News Sentinel''">Knoxville_News_Sentinel.html" ;"title="nline version of ''Knoxville News Sentinel">nline version of ''Knoxville News Sentinel''http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/silence/archives/2005/08/breaking_news_c.shtml, 9 Aug 2005, 11:35 AM. Accessed 30 May 2006. * State of Tennessee, Department of Corrections. News Release. "Inmate Escapes From Roane County Courthouse, Correctional Officer Fatally Wounded," http://www.tennessee.gov/correction/newsreleases/2005news/hyatteescapes.html 9 Aug 2005. Accessed 30 May 2006.
Fox News Capture Story

CNN Capture Story

MSNBC Coverage
Roane County, Tennessee Murder in Tennessee 2005 murders in the United States 2005 in Tennessee Crimes in Tennessee Deaths by firearm in Tennessee Attacks in the United States in 2005