We Remember Cotton
KINGSTON, TENNESSEE
On Aug. 9, AFSCME corrections officer Wayne "Cotton" Morgan was gunned down and killed while escorting a shackled prisoner outside a courthouse in Kingston, Tenn., near Nashville. The inmate's wife, a former prison nurse who planned the escape, fired the fatal shots.
Says co-worker Tom Higginbottom, "This is like losing a brother."
The treasurer of AFSCME Local 2173, Morgan, 56, had been a CO at the Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex for 28 years. He leaves behind wife, Viann, and two children. In addition to being an AFSCME leader, he was also a deacon in his church and a loving grandfather.
Tragically, Morgan was not wearing a bullet-proof vest, which may have saved his life, because one was never provided for him. Although the Tennessee Department of Corrections requires that fitted vests be provided to individuals assigned to transportation duty, Officer Morgan's repeated requests for a fitted vest were denied.
"It is unconscionable that a man's life may have been saved if he'd been provided with the required safety equipment," President McEntee said.
CO William Schillings, president of AFSCME Local 2173, took immediate action following Morgan's tragic death, renewing COs' demand for safety vests in a letter to the warden of the Brushy Mountain: "What troubles me is that in the past, requests for safety vests ... have repeatedly been turned down citing a lack of funds. ... We respectfully request that you document in writing to us when our officers will actually receive appropriate body armor."
The resolute actions by Schillings and so many others prompted the governor to say that he would "look into getting the proper safety equipment" to COs across the state. Already, those at Morgan's facility are being fitted for new vests.
In his honor, McEntee called for new federal corrections-safety legislation during the 7th National AFSCME Correc-tions United Congress, which was held in Albuquerque, N.M., in late August. Representatives Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) and Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) have all agreed to work with AFSCME to draft legislation that would provide COs across the nation who work in high-risk prisons or who have transportation duty with the body armor they need to protect themselves.
"In memory of Cotton and all the other fallen officers, I call on Congress to pass legislation that would require states to provide life-saving body armor that corrections officers need to protect themselves and our communities," McEntee said. "While nothing can bring Brother Cotton back, we owe it to him to make some good come out of this horrible tragedy."
McEntee also presented Morgan's widow and son with a $10,000 check for his memorial fund. Donations can be made to the Wayne Cotton Memorial Fund, Progressive Savings Bank, 705 Main Street, P.O. Box 927, Wartburg, TN 37889.
