Died in custody
William H. Spain
William H. Spain was a former army captain who had agreed to defend a man in a murder case, and he had reportedly been threatened by friends of the man who was killed. In September 1867, after a shooting on a street, he gave himself up to the marshal, who was taking him toward the jail. A crowd seized him from an express office, pushing aside the sheriff and the marshal, and hanged him from a tree. The account of the mob's action comes from a later newspaper report, and no official record of the killing is cited.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A crowd seized William H. Spain from an express office while the marshal was marching him toward the jail, and hanged him from a tree.
Reported by: news reports.