Sim Ward
Sim Ward, a Black man, was in the custody of a detective being taken from East Alabama toward Aberdeen, Mississippi, in March 1889. According to a press account in the Iuka Reporter published in April 1889, the detective shot him at a secluded spot in the woods and left him lying by the road. The paper said Ward crawled to a house about a mile away and described what had happened before he died. The paper also reported that his body had been mutilated, but the account is presented as hearsay, with the phrase 'it is said.'
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff. The press account says a detective shot Sim Ward in a secluded wooded spot while taking him toward Aberdeen, Mississippi, after his arrest.
Reported by: press account of the killing.