Died in jail or a lockup
Francis Dean
Francis Dean was a young man held at the Bell County jail in Belton, Texas. On a Friday night in early January 1877, a group of people went to the jail, took him from custody and hanged him, according to the Weekly Democratic Statesman. He and another young man, Will Fretwell, were raised in Fiskville, where both were taken and buried. The newspaper account does not say whether the jailers resisted, gave up the keys or handed the men over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched