Deaths in Custody
Died in custody

Walter Best

died February 23, 1918 · Fairfield, South Carolina

Walter Best, a Black man, died on February 23, 1918, near Fairfield, South Carolina. He was in the custody of a sheriff and two deputies when a mob seized him from them. The mob hanged him from a tree by the roadside.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched

Reported by: news reports.

News report