Serial killer Robert Nixon, 18, prepares to reenact a murder for the police. His case gained notoriety for the deeply racist media coverage, which inspired Richard Wright’s famous book Native Son. The Chicago Tribune likened Nixon to an ape, saying he was “almost pure Negro”, 1938 [1200 x 789].

[Robert Nixon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nixon_(criminal)) (on Nixon’s left is co-accused Earl Hicks)

[The offensive news coverage that inspired ‘Native Son’](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2018/02/08/the-offensive-news-coverage-that-inspired-native-son/)

Richard Wright accepted Robert Nixon’s guilt. Certain aspects of the case were very fishy. That said, fingerprint evidence later linked Nixon to the murder of a mother and her daughter in California. The crime involved the same weapon, a brick. So did every other crime in which Nixon was a suspect. However, as stated, what mainly disturbed Wright was the blatantly racist coverage of the case by the media.

[BRICK SLAYER IS LIKENED TO JUNGLE BEAST: Ferocity Is Reflected in Nixon’s Features](https://www.executedtoday.com/files/Robert_Nixon_Jungle_Beast.pdf)