Perry Mason
Perry Mason, a Black man, was taken from the Monroe jail in Louisiana before daylight on August 23, 1881, and killed by a mob, according to The Daily Gazette. The Weekly Louisianian, citing a telegraph report, said two Black men were taken from the same jail and hanged without a trial in that period, and it condemned the killings as lawless. Neither account says how the mob reached the jail or whether the jailer or sheriff resisted, gave up the keys or handed the men over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. The Daily Gazette reports that a mob took Perry Mason from the Monroe jail before daylight on August 23, 1881, and killed him; the article gives no detail on how the mob reached him or whether jail staff resisted.
Reported by: The Daily Gazette (reporters).