Frank Wigfall
Frank Wigfall, a Black man, was held at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins in October 1912 after a mob gathered outside the county jail seeking him, and the sheriff moved him to the penitentiary for safekeeping. Early on October 2, 1912, convicts there overpowered guards and a turnkey, took the keys to his cell, and hanged him from a railing above the rotunda, breaking his neck, according to press wire reports. The Associated Press dispatch said a coroner's jury could learn little because convicts and guards would not speak. Accounts differ on how many convicts took part and on the size of the mob outside the jail.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). Press wire and newspaper accounts say convicts at the Rawlins state penitentiary seized Frank Wigfall and hanged him, and the coroner's jury reportedly learned little because convicts and guards would not speak.
Reported by: Associated Press dispatch (reporters); Western Press wire report (reporters); United Press report (reporters); coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); annual newspaper lynching record; National News Association (reporters); Chicago report on 1912 lynchings (reporters).
Sources (14)
- The Chickasha Daily Express, October 2, 1912, page 1
- The Daily Gate City, October 2, 1912, page 1
- Arizona Republican, October 3, 1912, page 1
- Semi-Weekly Herald, October 3, 1912, page 1
- The Detroit Times, October 3, 1912, page 2
- The Madison Daily Leader, October 3, 1912, page 1
- The Manning Times, October 9, 1912, page 1
- Grant County Herald, October 16, 1912, page 2
- The Richmond Palladium And Sun-Telegram, December 27, 1912, page 3
- Semi-Weekly Herald, December 30, 1912, page 4
- The Farmer And Mechanic, December 31, 1912, page 12
- The Democratic Banner, December 31, 1912, page 7
- Evening Capital News, January 1, 1913, page 47
- Arizona Republican, January 5, 1913, page 2