Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors is a book written under the pseudonym Rex Feral whose real name is Nancy Crampton-Brophy and was published by Paladin Press in 1983. Paladin Press owner Peder Lund claimed, in an interview with 60 Minutes, that the book started life as a detailed crime novel written by a Florida housewife, and that the format was later changed to appeal to Paladin's reader base accustomed to the publisher's non-fiction books on military, survivalist, weapons and similar topics. The book portrays itself as a how-to manual on starting a career as a hit man, fulfilling contracts. However, after a number of lawsuits claiming that the book was used as a handbook in several murders, the publication of the book was stopped. It marked "the first time in American publishing history that a publisher has been held liable for a crime committed by a reader." Description Paladin Press published the book under Nancy Crampton-Brophy's pseudonym "Rex Feral" in 1983. The book is written as if by an actual experienced assassin, as a how-to manual on contract killing, however, in 1998 the Washington Post reported that the author was really a divorced mother-of-two who simply fabricated much of the material based on mystery novels and movies. The book goes on at length about studying "the mark", learning the mark's movements and routine, and silently moving in for the profitable kill, and offers advice on weapon selection and techniques. Lawsuits On March 3, 1993, a triple murder was committed in Montgomery County, Maryland, by a man who used the book as his guide. James Perry, who had been imprisoned for a violent crime, was caught, convicted, and sentenced three times to death. He had been hired by Lawrence Horn, who sought to receive the proceeds of a trust fund that resulted from his ex-wife's suing a hospital over injuries to their son. The families of Mildred Horn, her son Trevor, and his nurse Janice Saunders sued, claiming Paladin Press "aided and abetted" the murder. The suit, Rice v Paladin Enterprises, claimed that Paladin Press had a share of responsibility in the murders by virtue of their publication of a book that, by Paladin's own admission, could be used by criminals and would-be criminals in the solicitation, planning, and commission of murder for hire. In November 1997, a U.S. appeals court ruled 3–0 that Hit Man was not