John T. Shelton
John T. Shelton was held in the Greenwood jail in Mississippi when about twenty masked men arrived after midnight on October 7, 1877, according to a correspondent for the Richmond Dispatch. The account says the men forced the jailer to hand over the keys, entered the crowded cell and shot him, then dragged him out of the jail yard and shot him again at close range. The correspondent wrote that the first shot alone would likely have been fatal. The same account says Shelton struck one of the men with a brick before he was shot, a claim that comes from a single newspaper report and is not confirmed by other sources.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A Richmond Dispatch correspondent reports that about twenty masked men forced the jailer to surrender the keys, shot Shelton inside the jail, then dragged him out and shot him again.
Reported by: Richmond Dispatch correspondent (reporters).