Died in jail or a lockup
Jesse Thornhill
Jesse Thornhill was a Black man held in the jail at Paducah, Kentucky. On October 16, 1916, a mob took him from the jail along with another Black man and lynched them within two miles of the city. The Denver Star reported that the sheriff tried to move the two men to safety but failed to stop the mob. The same account said the bodies were burned after they were cut down.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Accounts say a mob took Jesse Thornhill from the Paducah county jail and lynched him within two miles of the city, and that the sheriff tried to move the men to safety but failed.
Reported by: news reports.