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Died in jail or a lockup

Owen Wright

died November 2, 1877 · jail at Leah, Ala., Crawford, Alabama

Owen Wright, a Black man, died on November 2, 1877, according to newspaper reports, after a party of about one hundred citizens took him from a jail in Alabama. Most papers place the jail near Crawford, though some name other towns such as Leah, Seale and Smile. The group carried him into the woods, where, according to a Columbus, Georgia dispatch, he was burned.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A brief newspaper dispatch reports that about one hundred citizens took Owen Wright from a jail and burned him in the woods, and the account does not say whether jail staff resisted.

Reported by: Columbus, Georgia newspaper dispatch (reporters).

Sources (19)

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