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Died in jail or a lockup

Ed Johnson

died March 19, 1906 · Hamilton County Jail, Hamilton County, Tennessee

Ed Johnson was held in the Chattanooga jail in Hamilton County, Tennessee, in March 1906 while the United States Supreme Court had stayed his scheduled hanging and was reviewing his appeal. On the night of March 19, 1906, a mob of about seventy-five men broke into the jail and overpowered the sheriff and his deputies, and the sources report that the sheriff and jailer were locked in a bathroom while Johnson was taken. The mob hanged him from a beam of the county bridge over the Tennessee River; the rope broke, and the mob then shot his body. Sheriff John F. Shipp said he had argued against the violence and was overwhelmed by the crowd, while the Supreme Court later found the sheriff and jailer in contempt for failing to protect him. The sources say Johnson maintained his innocence to the end.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (neglect alleged). A mob took Ed Johnson from the Chattanooga jail and hanged him from a bridge over the Tennessee River, and the U.S. Supreme Court found that Sheriff Shipp left the jail unguarded with only the night jailer on duty, then held Shipp and others in contempt for failing to protect him.

Reported by: U.S. Supreme Court (court); news reports of the contempt proceedings.

Sources (163)

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