§ 162-23. Prevent entering jail for lynching; county liable. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 162‑23.  Prevententering jail for lynching; county liable.

When the sheriff of any county has good reason to believe that the jailof his county is in danger of being broken or entered for the purpose ofkilling or injuring a prisoner placed by the law in his custody, it shall behis duty at once to call on the commissioners of the county, or some one ofthem, for a sufficient guard for the jail, and in such case, if thecommissioner or commissioners fail to authorize the employment of necessaryguards to protect the jail, and  by reason of such failure the jail is enteredand a prisoner killed, the county in whose jail the prisoner is confined shallbe responsible in damages, to be recovered by the personal representatives ofthe prisoner thus killed, by action begun and prosecuted before the superiorcourt of any county in this State. (1893, c. 461, s. 7; Rev., s. 2825; C.S., s. 3945.)