Lin Newborn

Lin Newborn (May 7, 1974 – July 4, 1998) was an African-American anti-racist skinhead who had spent much of his adult life campaigning against racism. A native of Pomona, California, he lived in Las Vegas, Nevada where he was a member of the Las Vegas Unity Skins and sung in the band Life of Lies, which ended around 1996.

On July 4, 1998, white supremacists murdered Newborn at the age of 24 along with his friend, Daniel Shersty. On July 6, 1998, Newborn's body was found three miles west of U.S. Highway 95 near Rome Boulevard, within 150 yards (140 m) of Shersty's body. Police state that the victims were lured by two women, under the pretext of attending a party. Newborn and Shersty were taken to a northwest part of the valley, where they were beaten and possibly tortured before being shot to death. Police speculate that Newborn may have been trying to escape when he was killed.

John "Polar Bear" Butler (then 26), a known neo-Nazi, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. He was allegedly the leader of a group called the Independent Nazi Skins. After appealing, Butler's death sentence was vacated and he was given four life terms without parole. He is registered with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's gang unit as a white supremacist. He is currently housed at High Desert State Prison in Nevada.

Poem

In a poem dated December 5, 1993, Newborn may have been predicting his own death. Language from the poem mirrors that of a threatening note found in Butler's stolen Jeep, which reads, in part “"'Do you know this punk ass SHARP named Spit [Newborn's moniker]? You pulled a gun on his bitch.'" The letter writer also wanted “this punk Spit to know that he can be reached out and touched.”

The poem (which may be titled "Shell" because of the picture of a shell at the top with the word written in it), reads: