Sketches of Willy Reed, 1955 (pencil on paper)

In 1955 Chicago teenager Emmett Till (1941-1955) was lynched while visiting relatives near Money, Mississippi; McMahon's collection visually documents the trial of the two men accused of murdering Till; Willie Reed (1937- ) was a suprise witness at the trial where he testified that he had heard beating and yelling coming from a shed on the plantation managed by Leslie Milam, brother of the accused J.W. Milam and had seen J.W. leave the shed to get a drink of water; McMahon's annotations read "Wide eyed Willy Reed"/"tall lanky"/"crew cut"/"18 yrs old";