Richard James
Richard James, a Black man, was held in the Woodford County jail in Versailles, Kentucky. Early on Sunday, March 13, 1921, about fifty men arrived by automobile, posted a guard around the jail, and the jailer, John T. Edger, handed over his keys, according to newspaper reports. The mob went to his cell, overpowered him after a short struggle, drove him about two miles from town and hanged him from a tree. The jailer has said he made no outcry because he feared for his own life and his family, and Governor Edwin P. Morrow removed him from office, saying a jailer's duty is to resist a mob. A grand jury was called and the coroner's inquest was delayed while further evidence was sought.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Richard James from the Woodford County jail in Versailles, Kentucky, and hanged him from a tree; the jailer, John H. Edger, handed over the keys, and Governor Edwin P. Morrow removed him from office for failing to resist the mob.
Reported by: Governor Edwin P. Morrow; Woodford County jailer John H. Edger (the agency that held him); Askov American (reporters); Versailles, Ky. dispatch (reporters).