Died in jail or a lockup
Wm. Owen
A man who gave his name as William Owen, of Louisville, Kentucky, was held in the Fort Smith jail in Arkansas in September 1860. According to newspaper reports from the time, a mob took him from the jail around 11 o'clock at night and tried to hang him from a tree. When he broke free, the mob fired a volley that brought him down, and he was carried back to the calaboose, where the reports said he lay dying.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took him from the Fort Smith jail, tried to hang him and then shot him, and the Richmond Daily Whig reported he was left dying in the calaboose.
Reported by: Richmond Daily Whig, reporting the Fort Smith dispatch (reporters).