Leander Shaw
Leander Shaw, a Black man, was held in the Pensacola county jail in Florida on July 29, 1908. Newspaper accounts citing Sheriff Van Pelt say a mob of about a thousand people tried to storm the jail that night, and that the sheriff and his deputies fired on the crowd and fought for about two hours. A mob took Shaw from his cell, hanged him from an electric light pole in the public square and shot his body many times. The sheriff said he pleaded with the mob and tried to protect Shaw, and a later grand jury found he had done everything in his power to protect the prisoner. Other accounts report that two men were killed and many wounded in the fighting, and the grand jury could not return charges because the men who took part were not identified.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob stormed the Pensacola county jail in July 1908, took Leander Shaw from his cell, hanged him from a pole and shot his body, according to accounts citing Sheriff Van Pelt, who said he pleaded with the mob and tried to protect Shaw.
Reported by: Sheriff Van Pelt's office (Pensacola county jail) (the agency that held him); newspaper accounts citing the sheriff; grand jury.
News reports (7)
- The Montgomery Advertiser, July 30, 1908, page 1
- The San Antonio Light, July 30, 1908, page 1
- The Ocala Evening Star, August 3, 1908, page 1
- The Citizen, August 6, 1908, page 7
- The Robesonian, August 6, 1908, page 4
- Greene County Herald, August 7, 1908, page 1
- The Pensacola Journal, April 18, 1909, page 5