Jack Hughes
Jack Hughes, about thirty years old, was a member of a prominent family from Washington Parish, Louisiana, according to the Pensacola Journal. He was being held in the county jail at Columbia, Mississippi, when, early on Sunday, October 31, 1915, masked men entered the jail, tied up the jailer, Otho Fortenberry, and took the cell keys. The men took Hughes out of the jail, led him to the edge of town and hanged him, and his body was found after daylight. A coroner's jury returned a verdict that he died at the hands of persons unknown, and did not learn who the lynchers were.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Masked men took Jack Hughes from the Columbia, Mississippi jail, tied up the jailer and hanged him, according to the Associated Press, and a coroner's jury ruled he died at the hands of persons unknown.
Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); Associated Press (reporters); Lakeland Evening Telegram (reporters); The Public Ledger (reporters).