4-year-old Lattie McGee-tortured and murdered in Chicago in 1990 by his mother Alicia Abraham and her boyfriend, Johnny Campbell.
Remembering Lattie
His name was Lattie McGee.
I never met him, and he never met me,
but he touched my life in a profound way
when I saw his face on the news one day.
His little body was bruised and battered,
every bone in this child was broken or shattered.
He was tortured to death at the age of four,
on the south side of Chicago, like a prisoner of war.
He was beaten, he was gagged, then hung upside down.
He was burned, he was starved, and then he was bound
inside a dark closet to hang there and die,
for no one heard the little boy cry, no one heard the little boy cry.
Thirty years to life, Johnny Campbell received.
He showed no remorse, he never even grieved
for the tiny boy named Lattie McGee
who died so young and so tragically.
If the time ever comes for Johnny to be free,
I pray the parole board will look at him and see
that no man who tortured a child that way,
should ever again see the light of day.
Let him suffer alone, let him rot in his cell!
For what he did to Lattie, may he burn in hell!
Before he takes his last breath, before he can state his case,
I hope that he sees Lattie’s innocent face.
May he look terror in the eyes, may he feel Lattie’s pain.
May he struggle to survive, but let it be in vain.
When the last light goes out before Johnny Campbell dies,
may he forever and ever, hear Lattie’s cries…
forever and ever, hear Lattie’s cries…
© 2005 Susan Maree Jeavons-All Rights Reserved
Tesslynn O'Cull
age 4
4-year-old Tesslynn O'Cull-tortured, murdered and buried in a shallow grave in Oregon by her mother Stella Kizer's meth-addicted boyfriend Jesse Compton. Stella and Jesse are both in prison in Oregon.
In Memory of Tesslynn O’Cull
Tesslynn O’Cull was only 3-years-old,
when they found her body in a grave near Sweet Home.
It was the worst case of child abuse they’d ever seen
thanks to Jesse Compton and methamphetamine.
This beautiful child was tortured to death,
and I vowed that until my very last breath,
I would tell her story so we’d never forget,
for society owes her at least this debt.
Others saw the abuse, yet they did not tell,
and this child’s life was a living hell.
She was raped and beaten and no one cared,
as her mother watched, Tesslynn sat and stared.
Tesslynn dared not scream or she’d have to pay
when Jesse threw knives and punches her way.
People came and went, but refused to step in,
so high on drugs that it didn’t matter to them.
Stella Kizer and Jesse Compton must pay their dues,
still the story of Tesslynn is now old news,
and though some may forget, I will keep my vow
to keep her memory alive somehow.
There’s a picture of Tesslynn on my office wall,
and at night in my dreams I can hear her call.
As she reaches out from beyond the grave,
I weep for the child that we could not save,
I weep for the child that we could not save…
© 2005 Susan Maree Jeavons-All Rights Reserved
A Song-Tesslynn’s Eyes
When you look in Tesslynn’s eyes
there’s a story to be told
of a little child who’ll never
have the chance to grow old.
Tesslynn’s eyes tell a story
of a little child abused,
neglected and molested,
battered, beaten, bruised.
Tesslynn’s eyes express the wishes
of every little child,
but in her face the terror
of innocence defiled.
Chorus
Tesslynn's eyes, Tesslynn's eyes-
Do you see what I see,
when you look in Tesslynn's eyes?
Tesslynn's eyes, Tesslynn's eyes-
the soul of every child
in Tesslynn's eyes.
In Tesslynn's eyes desperation,
in her eyes so much pain,
in her eyes a plea for mercy
said in silence and in vain.
No one cared about this child.
No one knew about her hell,
so the angels came to free her
and my mission is to tell.
Repeat Chorus
© 2003 Susan Maree Jeavons-All Rights Reserved
