Bredesen seeks to extradite pair from Ohio

Gov. Phil Bredesen and Secretary of State Riley Darnell signed warrants Tuesday to extradite inmate George Hyatte and Jennifer Hyatte, a former prison nurse who allegedly aided his escape August 9, Bredesen spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said.

The Hyattes, accused of killing corrections officer Wayne “Cotton” Morgan during the escape, were arrested August 10 in a motel in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio officials “will have the paperwork tomorrow” to extradite the pair back to Tennessee, said Amanda Sluss, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

Sluss said an extradition hearing in Ohio could be held as soon as Wednesday.

George Hyatte, 34, with a long record of robberies and escapes, already is serving a 41-year sentence in state prison in Tennessee. He would be returned to the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville to await trial in Morgan’s death.

Jennifer Hyatte, 31, who has no criminal history, ordinarily would be held in the county jail. But Roane County Sheriff David Haggard has said his facility is inadequate and he would seek to have her placed at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, also a maximum-security institution.