Died in jail or a lockup
Sylvester Rhodes
Sylvester Rhoades, a Black man also reported as Rhodes, died on March 5, 1894, near Collins in Tatnall County, Georgia, after a mob seized him while he was in the custody of officers bringing him to the county jail. A train conductor reported that he had been taken from the sheriff, while another account said guards escorting him from Savannah were overpowered and the mob carried him into the woods and shot him. That account said his body was found in the road the next morning. The accounts differ on where and how he was taken from custody, and The Morning News called for a careful investigation into the killing.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody