Name not reported
Three Black men held in the Washington County jail were taken out by a mob and killed, according to a New-York Tribune account of August 1888. The killings were discussed in the Senate, where a committee had been investigating them for about a year and a half. Senator Coke said the men were hanged because they had murdered a white man, while Senator Spooner said witness testimony showed they had no connection to such a crime.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed). Senator Chandler says a Democratic mob murdered the men after taking them from the county jail; Senator Coke says they were hanged for murdering a white man, while Senator Spooner says witness testimony showed no connection to such a crime.
Reported by: Senator Chandler; Senator Coke; Senator Spooner.