For the first time since twenty-some years ago when W. H. Turner was jail keeper for this county, prisoners attacked jail keeper W. R. Daughtry last Thursday afternoon and he was forced to cast the keys out the window to keep the prisoners from escaping.
According to Daughtry he was placing a prisoner who had recently been sentenced in the cell. As he opened the door to allow the prisoner to walk in, Lee Brown, who has been sentenced to serve a road term for giving worthless checks, attacked him and tried in vain to obtain the keys with which to gain his freedom.
Daughtry had only the key in his hand to protect himself from assault. He hit Brown about the head several times, the last lick knocking him down in the cell door. While he was attempting to close the cell door two other colored prisoners attacked him. Daughtry ran to the window of the jail and tossed the key to a person outside.
Returned to Cell
Daughtry said that other prisoners who were in the cell told the latter two assaulters to return to the cell as the man had thrown the keys outside, and they did return toward the cell but did not enter at that time, according to the officer.
Officer Daughtry then told the person on the outside to open the door for him to get out. This was done and he left temporarily, with the prisoners at liberty to come and go from their cell, only to return a few minutes later at which time he had his pistol for protection.
When the officer approached the jail door on his return, he heard the prisoners say “here he comes now.” When he opened the entrance door to the corridor the latter two prisoners made a dash for freedom and came face to face with the gun in the hands of the officer. They readily cast up their hands and were marched back to their respective cells, which were locked behind them.
During the initial affray with Brown, also colored, Daughtry reeved several scratches on his left arm while Brown was battered considerably with the heavy key which Daughtry carried.
Daughtry is confident that there would have been no commotion at all if he had carried his gun before entering the jail, but as he failed to have it they took advantage of his disarmament.
Former Jailer Beaten
This is thought to have been the first assault by prisoners in the jail here since Jailer W. H. Turner was severely beaten approximately 25 years ago. His case was somewhat similar to Daughtry’s, as he was in the act of entring the cell in which there were several prisoners confined, he told them to enter their cells and lock their doors, which was customary with jailers then and now.
All prisoners entered their cells and locked the doors with the exception of the prisoners in the first cell next to the entrance, who only pulled their door slightly together so that when the jailer threw the bar it did not effect their lock.
As Mr. Turner entered, they attacked him severely and managed to disarm him and were beginning to torture him unmercifully when two trusties who were standing in other departments of the jail came to the jailer’s rescue and saved him from what several citizens have termed probable death. These trustees who came to his rescue saved him from the attacking prisoners and managed to regain possession of the jailer’s gun and placed the prisoners back in their cell.
From the front page of the Sampson Independent, Clinton, N.C., Thursday, August 26, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn91068086/1926-08-26/ed-1/seq-1/
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