James Mitchell

James Mitchell, a Black man, was held in the jail at Mount Sterling, Kentucky. According to the Daily Republican and the Daily Gazette, on the night of Wednesday, June 14, 1882, a mob took him from the jail and lynched him. A later report in the Brookings County Sentinel, published June 22, 1882, says armed men took him from the jail and hanged him, but it gives the date as June 15. None of these accounts says whether jail staff resisted the mob or gave up the keys, and no further details about the people involved are given.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched

Reported by: Mount Sterling Gazette (reporters).

Sources (3)

• Daily Republican, June 16, 1882, page 1 Daily Republican, June 16, 1882
• The Daily Gazette, June 16, 1882, page 1 The Daily Gazette, June 16, 1882
• Brookings County Sentinel, June 22, 1882, page 1 Brookings County Sentinel, June 22, 1882