William Pitts

William Pitts was held in the custody of officers at Daggett, California, in December 1884. Early on the morning of December 9, a mob of about twenty men surrounded the officers, told them to keep quiet, and marched him to the edge of town. The newspapers say they put a rope around his neck and hanged him from a telegraph pole, and that he died within a few minutes. The Kenosha Telegraph's Daggett dispatch described him as charged in connection with a fatal beating, a charge that the sources do not establish.

Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody

Sources (6)

• The Salt Lake Herald, December 10, 1884, page 1 The Salt Lake Herald, December 10, 1884
• The Democratic Leader, December 10, 1884, page 1 The Democratic Leader, December 10, 1884
• The Kenosha Telegraph, December 12, 1884, page 1 The Kenosha Telegraph, December 12, 1884
• Mohave County Miner, December 14, 1884, page 2 Mohave County Miner, December 14, 1884
• The Iowa Plain Dealer, December 18, 1884, page 4 The Iowa Plain Dealer, December 18, 1884
• Wessington Springs Herald, January 2, 1885, page 6 Wessington Springs Herald, January 2, 1885