Mike Stevens
Mike Stevens, a Black man, was hanged at Live Oak, Florida, in September 1895 under a death sentence. Contemporary papers report that he maintained his innocence to the end and that a large crowd watched, including women with babies in their arms who wailed as the body was cut down. A co-defendant, Henry Brown, said on the gallows that he alone was responsible, and many people at the time believed Stevens was innocent. Sheriff J. W. Hawkins recorded the cause of death as hanging by the neck until dead. A 2018 Valdosta Daily Times article said Stevens was innocent and questioned whether the men would have been found guilty of first-degree murder under modern standards.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Stevens maintained his innocence to the end, and many people believed he was innocent, according to newspaper accounts of the 1895 hanging.
Reported by: Suwannee County jail and sheriff's office (Sheriff J. W. Hawkins) (the agency that held him); news reports.