Died in jail or a lockup
Maria Thompson
Maria Thompson, a Black woman, was being held in the jail at Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, when a mob took her from custody and hanged her from a tree in the jail yard on June 15, 1904. Accounts say the rope broke and the mob fired on her as she ran until she fell. Newspapers differ on what followed: one reports that a county officer found signs of life and moved her to a physician's office, where she was reported unable to recover, while another reports that a coroner found her still alive at an inquest before the mob shot her again. No account describes whether the jailer resisted the mob or handed her over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: news reports.