Died in jail or a lockup
William Bowles
William Bowles, also written as Willie Boles, was a Black man being taken to the county jail at Bartow, Florida, when an armed mob stopped the two deputy sheriffs escorting him near Eagle Lake in March 1921. According to the Associated Press, the mob overpowered the deputies, took him from them, and hanged him from a tree beside the road. A Winter Haven women's civic group asked the governor for an investigation, and a prosecuting attorney was sent to Winter Haven to look into the killing. Accounts differ on the date, with one placing his death on March 14, 1921 and another in February 1921.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched
Reported by: The Associated Press (reporters).