Churchill
James Churchill was one of the prisoners held in an old wooden building used as a jail at Murfreesboro, Pike County, Arkansas, in October 1885. According to a despatch from Pike County, a mob soaked the lower part of the building with coal oil and set it on fire on a Tuesday night, and Churchill died in the flames. One account says he appeared at a window and begged the mob to shoot him before the fire reached him. The despatch says a mob killed him, though an earlier report had attributed his death to another man.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). A despatch from Pike County says a mob set fire to the old wooden building holding Churchill at Murfreesboro and he burned to death, while an earlier account attributed his death to another man.
Reported by: despatch from Pike County (reporters).