William Woods
William Woods was held in the town jail at Hazen, Nevada, a wooden building. In the early morning of February 28, 1905, a crowd that had grown angry over his arrest broke open the jail door with an axe and a sledge hammer, dragged him out and hanged him from a telegraph pole. Deputy Sheriff Jud Allen urged the crowd to calm down, but his pleas were ignored. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death by hanging at the hands of unknown parties.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of death by hanging by unknown parties, and news accounts say a crowd broke into the Hazen town jail and hanged him after Deputy Sheriff Jud Allen's pleas for calm were ignored.
Reported by: coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); news accounts of the Hazen, Nevada lynching (reporters).