Died in jail or a lockup
Ben White
Ben White was held in the Williamston jail in Williamston, North Carolina, when he died on May 7, 1887. According to a special dispatch from Tarboro printed in a Raleigh newspaper, a group of masked men arrived by train, broke into the jail, and took him to Tarboro, where they hanged him from a tree. The dispatch does not describe whether jail officers resisted, gave up the keys, or handed him over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A special dispatch from Tarboro reported in the Raleigh news says masked men took him from the Williamston jail and hanged him.
Reported by: special dispatch from Tarboro reported in the Raleigh news (reporters).