Died in jail or a lockup
Joe Spranzo
Joe Spranzo was held in the Johnston City jail in Williamson County, Illinois, in June 1915. A mob stormed the jail, took him from his cell and hanged him in a shed near the Johnston City depot, according to a 1924 retrospective in the East St. Louis Daily Journal. The article reports that the sheriff wired the governor for militia. It also reports that a later confession suggested the mob had lynched the wrong man.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). A 1924 retrospective says an angry mob stormed the Johnston City jail, took Joe Spranzo from his cell and hanged him, and that a later confession suggested the mob lynched the wrong man.
Reported by: news reports.