Died in jail or a lockup
Sam Stephens
Sam Stephens was being held in the Stephens County jail in Toccoa, Georgia, in June 1915. Early on June 14, the Associated Press reported, a mob of more than 100 men forced their way into the jail, took him out and hanged him from a nearby tree, then shot his body many times. The account says a citizens' committee had guarded the jail overnight and that the sheriff had planned to move him for safety. How the sheriff and jailers responded to the mob is not described in the report.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: Associated Press (reporters).