J. V. Johnson
J. V. Johnson was held in the jail at Wadeboro, North Carolina, according to an Associated Press dispatch; a Raleigh Times dispatch gives the town as Waynesboro. Reports say a mob of about two hundred broke into the jail early on Monday, May 28, 1906, and knocked the sheriff unconscious. The mob took Johnson from the jail, hanged him from a tree at the edge of town and shot his body many times. The people were angered by the killing and by the outcome of his trial, which ended with the jury unable to agree. The governor was reported to have ordered a strict investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A special dispatch to the Raleigh Times says a mob broke into the Waynesboro jail, took Johnson and hanged him from a tree and shot him, and an Associated Press dispatch from Wadeboro says a mob of about two hundred broke the jail doors after knocking the sheriff unconscious and hanged and shot him.
Reported by: special dispatch to the Raleigh Times (reporters); Associated Press (reporters).