Aberdeen Johnson

Aberdeen Johnson, a Black man, was held in the Bullock County jail in Union Springs, Alabama, when a mob broke into the jail on the afternoon of Sunday, April 2, 1911, took him from his cell and killed him away from the jail. Testimony at the impeachment trial of Sheriff P. W. Jinwright said no officer was inside the jail and no guard was on duty when the mob came, and that citizens who pleaded with the crowd could not stop it. Sheriff Jinwright said he tried to stop the mob, deputized citizens to help, and was disarmed and forced down in the jail yard, and he had asked the governor for state troops, which did not arrive in time. The state attorney general brought impeachment charges alleging neglect of duty and connivance with the mob, which the sheriff denied, and the defense said he had reached an understanding that the crowd would not commit violence if he handed the prisoner over, a claim that remains disputed. The Alabama Supreme Court was still weighing the case in May 1911.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (neglect alleged). The state attorney general's impeachment charges say Sheriff P. W. Jinwright neglected his duty and left the jail unguarded when the mob came, and testimony said no guard was on duty.

Reported by: Alabama attorney general, in impeachment charges against Sheriff Jinwright (outside investigators); Sheriff P. W. Jinwright of Bullock County (the agency that held him); witnesses at the sheriff's impeachment trial (witnesses); Montgomery and Hopkinsville newspaper reports (reporters).

News reports (10)

• The Birmingham Age-Herald, April 3, 1911, page 1 The Birmingham Age-Herald, April 3, 1911
• The Times Dispatch, April 3, 1911, page 1 The Times Dispatch, April 3, 1911
• The Prescott Daily News, April 4, 1911, page 3 The Prescott Daily News, April 4, 1911
• Hopkinsville Kentuckian, April 4, 1911, page 4 Hopkinsville Kentuckian, April 4, 1911
• The Birmingham Age-Herald, April 5, 1911, page 9 The Birmingham Age-Herald, April 5, 1911
• The Montgomery Advertiser, May 22, 1911, page 3 The Montgomery Advertiser, May 22, 1911
• The Montgomery Advertiser, May 23, 1911, page 2 The Montgomery Advertiser, May 23, 1911
• The Birmingham Age-Herald, May 23, 1911, page 2 The Birmingham Age-Herald, May 23, 1911
• The Birmingham Age-Herald, May 24, 1911, page 14 The Birmingham Age-Herald, May 24, 1911
• The Montgomery Advertiser, May 25, 1911, page 1 The Montgomery Advertiser, May 25, 1911