Died in jail or a lockup
Big Bill Kinney
Bill Kinney was held in the jail at West Union, West Virginia, according to a news dispatch in the Memphis Daily Appeal. That report says a mob took him from the jail on the night of December 10, 1883, and hanged him. A Cincinnati dispatch quoting a Wheeling report describes the same killing, saying a mob took Big Bill Kinney from a jail and hanged him. Neither account says how the mob got in, or whether jail officers resisted, gave up keys, or handed him over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A news dispatch reports that a mob took Bill Kinney from the jail at West Union and hanged him.
Reported by: news dispatch.