Deaths in Custody
Died in jail or a lockup

Clarke

died April 26, 1884 · Ouachita Parish Correctional Center, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

Clarke was held in the jail at Monroe, Ouachita, Louisiana, in April 1884. On the night of Saturday, April 26, according to Deputy Sheriff Brooks's testimony to a coroner's inquest, about four masked men demanded the keys from the deputy. The Dawson Journal reported that a crowd of about 75 men took Clarke from the jail and hanged him from a tree on the sidewalk near the old sheriff's office.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Deputy Sheriff Brooks told a coroner's inquest that a mob took Clarke from the Monroe jail and hanged him, and telegrams reported the same.

Reported by: Deputy Sheriff Brooks (the agency that held him); Shreveport, La. telegrams as reported by the Savannah Morning News (reporters).

News reports (5)