Died in jail or a lockup
One of 4 people whose names were not reported
Six Black men held at the Columbia County jail in Lake City, Florida, were taken from it in the early hours of Sunday, May 21, 1911. About a dozen men who had come by automobile showed a forged telegram to a teenage boy left in charge of the jail, and he released the prisoners to them. The men were driven about a mile out of town and shot to death, and their bodies were found at daybreak. Their names do not appear in the newspaper reports.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (neglect alleged). A 1911 newspaper report says a mob posing as officers obtained the prisoners from a teenage jailer left in charge by showing a bogus telegram, and the jailer released them.
Reported by: 1911 newspaper report (reporters).