Jesse Wilkins

He was just a kid, enforcing a law that most of the town didn't want.

In July, he entered a shop run by a man named William Howard.

It was a place that secretly sold alcohol.

A fight broke out, and Etherington shot Howard in self-defense.

Within hours, a furious mob gathered.

Carl had been arrested and locked inside the Licking County Jail for his own protection, but the crowd outside wasn't interested in justice.

By nightfall, thousands of people surrounded the building.

Demanding blood, the mob stormed the jail, and it's believed that the guards let them in untouched, even opened the doors for them.

They attacked Etherington as they brought him to the street.

They beat him with a hammer and fist, dragged him through the town square.

As this was all happening, he managed to say, quote, End quote.

He was hanged from a pole in front of the courthouse.

His body was left for hours as the crowd cheered.

Now the second floor of the old jail has a heaviness to it.

This is where Carl was held the night an angry mob dragged him from his cell.

Today, his cell is supposed to be one of the most active in the jail.

People who have walked the corridor late at night describe hearing slow, deliberate footsteps pacing the row of cells, followed by the faint sound of keys jingling.

Sometimes, doors rattle on their own, as if someone is testing the locks.

A few investigators have captured a young man's voice, whispering for help or asking to be let out.

It's as though Carl's final moments still replay here.