William Bennett, Jr.
William Bennett, Jr., was the son of William R. Bennett, a former judge of the Criminal Court of Fayette County, and he was being held in the jail in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Early on July 25, 1920, newspaper accounts say a mob of about 100 people, many arriving in automobiles, came to the jail. According to those accounts, the jailer was called to the sheriff's office by telephone, confronted by the men, and asked for his keys before the jail was stormed. The mob drove Bennett to the old county poor farm and hanged him from a beam or tree, and some reports give the date of the killing as July 18 instead.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took William Bennett, Jr. from the Fayetteville jail and hanged him at the old county poor farm; accounts say the jailer was called to the sheriff's office, confronted and forced to give up his keys before the jail was stormed.
Reported by: news reports; Associated Press (reporters); Every Evening, Wilmington Daily Commercial (reporters); Albuquerque Morning Journal (reporters).
Sources (17)
- The Birmingham Age-Herald, July 26, 1920, page 1
- The Montgomery Advertiser, July 26, 1920, page 1
- The Pensacola Journal, July 26, 1920, page 1
- Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 26, 1920, page 1
- Alexandria Gazette, July 26, 1920, page 1
- Arizona Republican, July 26, 1920, page 1
- Every Evening, Wilmington Daily Commercial, July 26, 1920, page 6
- Evening Star, July 26, 1920, page 14
- The Richmond Palladium And Sun-Telegram, July 26, 1920, page 7
- South Bend News-Times, July 26, 1920, page 3
- Daily Kennebec Journal, July 26, 1920, page 1
- Albuquerque Morning Journal, July 26, 1920, page 1
- Dakota County Herald, July 29, 1920, page 2
- The Big Sandy News, July 30, 1920, page 1
- Highland Recorder, July 30, 1920, page 2
- Richmond Daily Register, August 4, 1920, page 2
- Metropolis Weekly Gazette, August 6, 1920, page 1