Died in custody
William Shorter
William Shorter, a Black man, was in the custody of Deputy Sheriff Adam Forney while being taken by train from Staunton to Winchester, Virginia. On June 13, 1893, according to The Times, unmasked men stopped the train at Kernstown, boarded the car and seized him. The deputy refused to give up the keys, the men cut the seat apart with an axe, and they hanged Shorter from a tree. The account comes from a single newspaper report from the time.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob stopped the train at Kernstown, seized William Shorter from the car in the custody of Deputy Sheriff Adam Forney, and hanged him from a tree, according to The Times.
Reported by: The Times (reporters).