Changes

{{Infobox Biography| subject_name =Leander Shaw| image_name =Leandershaw.jpg| image_size =200px| image_caption =Shaw's body after he was lynched| date_of_birth =| place_of_birth =| date_of_death =[[July 29]], [[1908]]| place_of_death =Pensacola| occupation =Laborer| religion =| spouse =| parents =| children =}}'''Leander A. Shaw''' (d. [[July 2829]], [[1908]]) was a black man accused of the robbery, rape and murder of a white woman, [[Lillie ShawBrewton Davis]].

After the crime, Shaw was allegedly found rinsing his bloody shirt in [[Pensacola Bay]], arrested and taken to the hospital where Davis, whose throat had been cut, positively identified him before dying. Headlines from the ''[[Pensacola Journal]]'' announced the "Brutal Assault by Burly Negro Upon White Lady."

A mob of 1,000 or more was formed shortly thereafter on [[July 29]] and breached demanded entry to the [[Pensacola Old Escambia County Jail|County Jail]], where Shaw was being held. He The [[Escambia County Sheriff|sheriff]], [[James C. Van Pelt]], at first attempted to reason with the crowd, and when that failed, Sheriff Van Pelt reportedly deputized the entire crowd, apparently thinking that the mob would have to obey the law and disperse if its members were sheriff's deputies. The tactic failed; instead the members of the crowd stipulated that as deputies they should be given guns and access to the jail. According to the ''[[Pensacola News]]'', Van Pelt told the crowd, "Gentlemen, here I am. You can kill me if you want to, but if you get my prisoner, it will be over my dead body. I have sworn to do my duty, and I am going to do it if I die for it!" The mob stormed the jail twice. The gate was hanged without broken in the first attempt, around 9 o'clock, and Van Pelt and his deputies fired a volley that dropped three men, forcing the others to retreat. A second attempt around midnight resulted in a trial melee, injuring Van Pelt and his brother, [[John A. Van Pelt]], and the prisoner was taken. The mob members killed in the raid were streetcar operator [[Henry C. Kellum]] and planter [[Bud Nichols]]. Shaw was dragged from his cell, through the street, to [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]]. He was hanged without a trial from an electric pole in the plaza, and his body was riddled with 2,000 bullets from the angry crowd.