Prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty for a Tennessee convict charged with killing a corrections administrator and escaping prison on a tractor.

Lauderdale County district attorney Mark Davidson has filed a notice of intent to seek death if 44-year-old Curtis Ray Watson is convicted of first-degree murder in the death of longtime Tennessee Department of Correction administrator Debra Johnson.

Watson was indicted on 15 counts including premeditated murder, rape and escape. He has not entered a plea in the case. A trial date of October 26, 2020 is set for Watson.

Watson was on lawn care duties at West Tennessee State Penitentiary near Henning when he sexually assaulted and killed corrections administrator 64-year-old Debra Johnson at her home on the prison grounds.

Watson escaped and was found four days later after an intense manhunt.