Watkins Lewis
Watkins Lewis was held in the parish jail in Shreveport, Louisiana, in December 1914. According to The Birmingham Age-Herald, five men got in through a window on December 11, overpowered the jailer, and forced Mr. Lewis into an automobile that drove away. Early reports said he was believed to have been hanged, while a later report said his body was found the next day tied to a tree near Sylvester in Caddo Parish and that he had been burned. The sheriff was away on a hunting trip at the time, and a district judge ordered a grand jury to investigate the killing. No official source is named for the cause of death.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A newspaper account says a mob took Watkins Lewis from the parish jail in Shreveport and burned him at the stake, while a second account says he was taken by five men and believed hanged.
Reported by: newspaper account.