Died in jail or a lockup
George Bickman
George Bickman was held in the Ponchatoula jail in Tangipahoa County, Louisiana, in September 1900. According to The Semi-Weekly Messenger, a white committee demanded the jail keys from the sheriff, who refused to give them up, and a mob broke the jail open with axes. The mob took George Bickman and three other Black men held there and hanged them from a tree about two blocks away. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death from unknown hands.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of death from unknown hands after a mob broke into the Ponchatoula jail with axes and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner).