Alonzo Williams
Alonzo Williams, a Black man, was held in the Toombs County jail in Lyons, Georgia. In late July 1908, reports say a mob came to Sheriff Scarboro's home around midnight and demanded the jail keys. When the sheriff refused, a guard was left at his house and the mob broke into the jail, took Williams from his cell, and shot him to death in an oak grove. Accounts differ on whether he died on July 28 or July 29, 1908.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob demanded the jail keys from the sheriff, then broke into the Toombs County jail, took Alonzo Williams from his cell and shot him in a nearby oak grove after the sheriff refused to hand over the keys.
Reported by: The Paducah Evening Sun, reporting from Lyons, Ga. (reporters).