Died in jail or a lockup
Sherman Laucus
Sherman Laucus was held in the Lebanon, Virginia jail on October 29, 1892, when a mob of about forty or fifty masked men entered the town, overpowered the jailer and forced him to hand over the cell key. The men took Laucus and Nathan Bergess, who were handcuffed together, carried them about half a mile west of town and hanged them from an oak tree beside the public road. The mob fired bullets into their bodies before leaving. A coroner's inquest jury failed to agree on a verdict.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob overpowered the jailer, took Sherman Laucus from the Lebanon, Virginia jail and hanged him from an oak tree beside the public road.
Reported by: news reports.