Jesse Williams
Jesse Williams, a Black man, was held in the Eastman jail in Georgia in September 1892. According to The Morning News, about 100 armed men, mostly from Pulaski County, took the keys from the sheriff by force, entered the jail and took him, then hanged him from a tree and shot his body many times. The Atlanta Constitution reported that he was marched out with a rope around his neck and that gunfire was heard, and that a request for military intervention came too late to stop it. The Morning News said Judge Roberts warned the mob that the act was unlawful, but they went ahead. Accounts of the sheriff's response differ in detail, and no sources in the record describe Williams himself.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A crowd of about 100 armed men took the keys from the sheriff, entered the Eastman jail, took Jesse Williams and hanged him from a tree, then shot his body, according to the newspaper account.
Reported by: news reports.