Died in jail or a lockup
Joe Hilly
Joe Hilly was one of three Black men held in the jail at Russellville, Kentucky, when a mob of about 50 men took them out early on August 1, 1908. The mob forced the jailer to surrender the keys, and the men were hanged from a tree on the pike outside town, according to the Paducah Evening Sun. The paper reported that no shots were fired and that residents said they knew nothing until morning.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob of about 50 men took Joe Hilly from the Russellville, Kentucky jail and hanged him from a tree on the pike outside town, after the jailer surrendered the keys.
Reported by: news reports.