W. C. Clifton

W. C. Clifton was held in the jail at Newcastle, Wyoming, in May 1903, when a mob of mounted men from Gillette broke down the jail door. According to press accounts, the men bound the sheriff and a deputy and took Clifton to a bridge west of town, where they hanged him on the night of May 26. One report says his head was severed in the fall, and another describes the mob as acting with organization and quiet deliberation.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob from Gillette broke into the Newcastle jail, overpowered the sheriff and deputies, and hanged Clifton from a bridge west of town, according to a Denver Post dispatch and an Associated Press report.

Reported by: The Post (Denver), special dispatch from Newcastle, Wyoming (reporters); Associated Press dispatch (reporters).

News reports (8)

• San Antonio Daily Light, May 27, 1903, page 1 San Antonio Daily Light, May 27, 1903
• The Savannah Morning News, May 28, 1903, page 1 The Savannah Morning News, May 28, 1903
• The Montgomery Advertiser, May 28, 1903, page 1 The Montgomery Advertiser, May 28, 1903
• The Times Dispatch, May 28, 1903, page 1 The Times Dispatch, May 28, 1903
• The San Francisco Call, May 28, 1903, page 3 The San Francisco Call, May 28, 1903
• The Greenville Times, May 30, 1903, page 1 The Greenville Times, May 30, 1903
• The Grenada Sentinel, May 30, 1903, page 3 The Grenada Sentinel, May 30, 1903
• Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner, June 3, 1903, page 1 Weekly Arizona Journal-Miner, June 3, 1903