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Died in jail or a lockup

Henry Davis

died December 21, 1906 · Annapolis Jail, Anne Arundel County, Alabama

Henry Davis was held in the Annapolis jail in Maryland when a masked mob of roughly sixty men broke in before dawn on December 21, 1906. Newspaper accounts report that the warden surrendered the keys at pistol point and that officers offered little or no resistance, and that the men took him from his cell, hanged him from a tree outside town and fired many shots into his body. A deputy sheriff was reported to have pleaded with the men to let the law take its course. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death at the hands of persons unknown, and the state's attorney said he would try to identify those responsible.

Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed). A masked mob took Henry Davis from the Annapolis jail and hanged and shot him, and a coroner's jury found he died at the hands of persons unknown, while the state's attorney vowed to prosecute those responsible.

Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); Annapolis jail deputies and warden (the agency that held him); State's Attorney Nicholas H. Green (outside investigators); Associated Press (reporters).

Sources (78)

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