Died in jail or a lockup
Walter Copeland
Walter Copeland was held in the Springfield jail in Missouri. Around 3 a.m. on April 15, 1906, a mob of about three thousand men reached the jail, according to press accounts. The mob stormed the sheriff's residence next to the jail, obtained the jail keys, and removed Copeland from his cell. They hanged him from the bandstand near the electric light tower in the public square and burned his body. Accounts say the mob was unmasked and that militia were later sent to the city.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: news reports.