Jacob Allen Morley-- a convicted felon serving a life sentence for murder -- has allegedly broken out of prison and sparked a manhunt in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Correction announced the shocking news in a statement Monday ... stating he escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, TN, late Sunday night.
TDOC states it has searched and cleared buildings and structures in the surrounding area ... and the Tennessee Highway Patrol is assisting with the investigation. So far, though, they have been unable to find him.
Christa Pike is making significant strides in her recovery after surviving a botched execution in Tennessee ... but doctors are still trying to determine the extent of any lasting psychological and cognitive damage ... TMZ has learned.
An attorney for Christa tells TMZ ... she's continuing to improve physically and is now able to walk more on her own. The attorney says Christa's speech has also improved, and she's now able to communicate more clearly and form full sentences.
However, her attorney says her cognitive and psychological functioning are still being monitored and it could take another month or longer before there's a clearer picture of any potential long-term effects from the ordeal.
Casey Anthony says America needs to do away with the death penalty ... 15 years after she narrowly avoided the punishment herself.
Casey -- who was found not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee back in the summer of 2011 -- says state-sanctioned death as a punishment is inhumane ... claiming there's no evidence that the severe punishment stops people from committing crimes.
"Ghost Adventures" star Zak Bagans is giving his Vegas museum a morbid update ... he's now displaying a letter Christa Pike sent to a pen pal from prison ... plus a lock of her hair.
Zak tells TMZ ... he started displaying Christa's hair and correspondence at his Haunted Museum on Sunday ... and they're inside a real jail cell outfitted with actual bars from a decommissioned prison.
He tells us ... "That is the only place that I feel is appropriate to display items like this. Pike did an absolutely brutal crime."
Christa Pike couldn't get help for quite some time after her botched execution ... a result of confusion between prison officials and first responders.
According to 911 dispatch recordings reviewed by the Associated Press, it took over half an hour for prison officials to even confirm to first responders that the call for help was legit.
Apparently, there was some confusion between the first responders and the prison officials about whether or not help was actually needed in the execution chamber ... leading to a serious delay in Christa's care.
New Jane Doe texts revealed in the alleged Cornell sexual assault, Pete Hegseth wants to live stream executions, and one of President Trump's ambassadors is accused in a $100K caper. Plus, Sofia Vergara's ex is pissed! So, we gotta ask ...
A Frontier Airlines flight turned into a wrestling match when a mechanical issue prevented tired passengers from getting off the plane ... and a male flight attendant got into a violent exchange with a woman on video.
Check out the new YouTube collab between TMZ and the New York Post, "The Low Down," where we bring you stories that are gripping, outrageous, and sometimes scandalous.
Text chains between the Cornell Jane Doe and two of the Chi Phi fraternity brothers she would later accuse of sexual assault show her texting them about a "gang bang" that was "our body our choice," trying to find the source of campus rumors and looking back on an "insane/jaw dropping" moment -- snorting ketamine off his penis.
Christa Pike is going through some major psychological trauma after surviving her botched execution ... this according to her legal team.
TMZ obtained a statement from Pike's lawyers -- Randy Spivey, Kelly Gleason, Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen -- who say her physical health is improving ... but the ordeal has taken a psychological toll.
The lawyers say she's eating a regular diet and her lungs are clear, but added ... "While her physical recovery has been remarkable, significant questions remain about the long-term effects of what she endured."
Christa Pike's aunt says her niece is still alive because it's what God wants ... she believes the Almighty is in control now -- not officials in Tennessee.
Carrie Ross -- Christa's aunt who helped raise her -- told the Daily Mail she believes Christa surviving execution by lethal injection last week proves God wants her to live.
Christa's aunt says, "When God puts his hand on someone, God is in control. Not the Department of Correction, not us, but God."
Texas has carried out an execution days after Tennessee inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection ... with the condemned killer's final words directed at his victim's family.
Jamaal Howard was pronounced dead Wednesday night at a Texas prison after receiving a dose of pentobarbital ... the same drug used during Pike's botched execution last week.
Howard was convicted of fatally shooting convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout during a 2000 robbery in Texas. Surveillance video showed Howard shooting Swartout in the chest before stealing $114 and a carton of cigarettes.
Before the execution, Howard apologized to Swartout's family, who watched from a viewing room near the death chamber.
Christa Pike's courtroom battle produced one surprisingly hopeful clue about her recovery ... she wants her iPad back, a telling clue about her brain function.
Los Angeles Magazine reporter Lauren Conlin joined Jaksonon TMZ's "In The Know" Wednesday and said that detail jumped out at her ... if Pike wants to message friends, family and her attorneys, Conlin thinks that's a good sign she may not be dealing with the severe brain damage many feared.
Conlin also says Wednesday's preservation order is a big deal ... because Pike's lawyers want the actual pentobarbital from the failed execution tested.
Christa Pike woke up Tuesday asking, "Where am I and who are you?" ... just hours after her attorneys say they believed she was brain-dead and would be taken off life support.
Her lawyers revealed the stunning turn Wednesday, saying Pike is now conscious and talking -- but she's angry, confused and still trying to understand what happened to her.
They say Pike has pneumonia and a blood clot in one arm, can't move either arm and still can't eat because she can't swallow. Her attorneys say they don't know how much function she'll regain.
The swelling is also severe -- one attorney compared her hands and arms to an inflated surgical glove -- and she's still shackled at the feet and on her right arm.
A Tennessee judge has ordered evidence from Christa Pike's botched execution to be preserved ... as her attorneys fight over what happens next.
Pike's legal team was back in court Wednesday morning for a status conference tied to an emergency motion filed after the failed execution.
Her legal team also revealed Pike is still shackled and handcuffed to her hospital bed ... even though medical staff have asked for the restraints to be removed.
As we reported, Tennessee tried to put Pike to death last week, but she survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital and was rushed from prison to a Nashville hospital.
Texas is moving forward with an execution just one week after Christa Pike survived a botched lethal injection in Tennessee ... and the condemned man's lawyers want to pump the brakes.
Jamaal Howard is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday in Texas, which uses the same drug -- pentobarbital -- that failed to kill Pike after two doses.
Howard's attorneys are asking Gov. Greg Abbott for a 30-day delay while they seek more information about Texas' supply of the drug ... arguing he shouldn't be executed "within days of the same drug failing in another state."
