Died in jail or a lockup
Walter Wilkins
Walter Wilkins was held in the Waycross jail in Georgia, along with another man. On June 17, 1908, a crowd of more than 1,000 people broke through the officers guarding the jail, took both men, and hanged them from a tree at the edge of town. According to the Birmingham Age-Herald, more than 100 shots were fired at the bodies. The account leaves open whether the sheriff resisted the crowd or gave up the men.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: The Birmingham Age-Herald (reporters).