24"x30" charcoal & pastels on canvas.
 
“Jesse Washington” — 5/15/1916: 17yo, mentally disabled Jesse Washington was brutally lynched in Waco Texas:
* Accused of murder & rape of a white woman with no evidence.
* Forced confession with a signature of an ‘X’ due to being illiterate. Jesse had no comprehension of his own trial.
* A mob grabbed Jesse, ripped his clothes off, wrapped a chain around his neck, and dragged him from the courthouse to the town square.
* Along the way, he was beaten & stabbed so much, he was covered in blood.
* Coal oil was poured over him.
* He was held down & castrated.
* Wrapping the chain around a branch, the mob lit the boxes under Jesse on fire.
* The mob lowered him in and out of the flames for over 2 hours.
* Members chopped off fingers & toes —to keep in formaldehyde — for souvenirs.
* After smoldering for hours, a horseman lassoed what remained of the body and dragged it through the streets of Waco.
* Small boys extracted the teeth and sold them for five dollars each.