W. M. Bates

William Bates was being held in the Shelbyville, Tennessee jail in June 1892 when a mob came to the jail and forced the keys from the sheriff. According to the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer and the Pittsburg Dispatch, the men took him from his cell and hanged him from a tree in the courthouse yard, within about sixty feet of the prison. Several papers report that he protested his innocence before he died.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Masked men took him from the Shelbyville, Tennessee jail and hanged him from a tree, according to the newspaper account.

Reported by: newspaper account of the Shelbyville lynching (reporters).

Sources (6)

• Asheville Daily Citizen, June 28, 1892, page 1 Asheville Daily Citizen, June 28, 1892
• The Indianapolis Journal, June 28, 1892, page 1 The Indianapolis Journal, June 28, 1892
• The Evening Herald, June 28, 1892, page 3 The Evening Herald, June 28, 1892
• Pittsburg Dispatch, June 28, 1892, page 1 Pittsburg Dispatch, June 28, 1892
• The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, June 28, 1892, page 2 The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, June 28, 1892
• Weekly Courier-Journal, July 4, 1892, page 2 Weekly Courier-Journal, July 4, 1892