Thomas Shipp
Thomas Shipp was a young Black man, reported as 18 or 19, held in the Grant County Jail in Marion, Indiana, when a mob of thousands broke in during August 1930, battered cell doors, and hanged him from an elm tree in the courthouse yard. Historian Jim Madison says the mob broke through the jail's iron door, beat him, and that witnesses said he was already dead when he was dragged through the streets. The Richmond Planet reported that sheriff's forces and police were present but did not fire on the crowd or stop it, and that sheriff's men turned fire hoses on the mob, while NPR reported that Sheriff Campbell is said to have refused at first to open the doors. Indiana's attorney general moved to remove the sheriff from office for failing in his duty, and the Savannah Tribune reported that a grand jury returned no indictments and exonerated him. Sources give different dates for the death, with August 7 and August 15, 1930 both appearing.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (neglect alleged). Historian Jim Madison says the mob broke into the Grant County Jail and beat Tom Shipp, and the NAACP and the Associated Negro Press say a mob took him from the jail and hanged him; the Associated Negro Press also says the sheriff's forces did not fire on or stop the crowd.
Reported by: Prof. Jim Madison, historian; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (advocates); The Associated Negro Press (reporters); Richmond Planet (reporters).