Died in jail or a lockup
Joe Hilley
Joe Hilley, a Black man, was held in the Logan County jail at Russellville, Kentucky, when a mob of about 50 men came to the jail early on August 1, 1908. The men took him and other Black men from the jail and hanged them from a tree on the pike outside town. Accounts differ on how many men were taken, with some saying three and others saying four. One account says the mob forced the jailer to surrender the keys and that no shots were fired.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody