Name not reported
On September 14, 1919, a man held at the state reformatory in Pontiac, Illinois, was shot and killed in a revolver battle on the reformatory grounds, according to the Yerington Times. The paper says he and another man held there had sawn through the bars of their cell in an attempt to escape after secretly arming themselves with revolvers. The fight also left two officers and another man wounded, and the paper reports that an officer was killed. The paper does not name the man who died.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff. A 1919 newspaper account describes a gun battle on the reformatory grounds between prisoners and officers in which one prisoner was killed, without saying who fired the fatal shot.
Reported by: 1919 newspaper report (reporters).