Andrew Dimms
Andrew Dimms, a Black man, was held in the Scottsboro, Alabama, jail when a mob broke in on the night of Monday, June 29, 1903, took him from his cell and hanged him from a telegraph pole in the west end of town. Accounts say Sheriff Austin tried to stop them: he was shot, and his daughter was forced to hand over the cell keys. According to the sheriff, he first learned of the mob when it appeared in the jail hallway, and he drew two pistols and warned men not to come up the stairs. Governor Jelks asked for a special court term to try five members of the mob whom the sheriff had recognized.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Andrew Dimms from the Scottsboro, Alabama jail and hanged him from a telegraph pole, after shooting the sheriff when he tried to stop them.
Reported by: news reports.