Died in jail or a lockup
James Bearden
James Bearden was being held in the Brookhaven, Mississippi, jail on the night of June 29, 1928, when a mob broke through the jail doors and cut through the cell bars to reach him. The mob took him from the jail and hanged him, and his brother Stanley was killed the same night. Their bodies were found early the next morning hanging from live oak trees beyond the city limits. The Evening Star reported these events in its issue of June 30, 1928.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. According to the newspaper report, a mob battered down the Brookhaven jail doors, cut the cell bars with an acetylene torch and hanged James and his brother Stanley separately.
Reported by: newspaper report.