Casey Jones
Casey Jones was held in the Hattiesburg jail, Mississippi, while his appeal was pending, and early on July 23, 1921, a mob took him from the jail and hanged him. Reports say the sheriff, a deputy and the jailer were on the courthouse steps when the crowd arrived, and that the jailer refused to surrender the keys before the mob broke in. The Associated Press account says Jones struggled before he was overpowered and hanged from a tree in the courthouse yard, while another report says the crowd forced entry without the keys. A coroner's jury could not establish the identity of anyone in the mob, and sources do not agree on the details of how the jail was entered.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: Associated Press (reporters); Brownsville Herald (reporters); coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner).