Editing Ricky Ray Rector (section)

== Early life ==
Rector was born and raised in [[Conway, Arkansas|Conway]], [[Arkansas]], as the sixth of seven children to [[steakhouse]] cook George Rector and college dorm maid Clyde Lee Rector. As a child, Rector was described as "different and strange", having no friends and keeping to himself, most often sitting under a tree to play with branches. Rector was physically abused by his father, who saw his son's languid behavior as defiance. Though normally introverted and docile, Rector would react violently if bothered, once stabbing his brother in the foot with a pair of scissors for taunting him.<ref name="bright" />

By the time he entered junior high school, Rector possessed only third-grade level writing skills, which was later ascribed to an undiagnosed [[learning disability]].<ref name="Jacobin" /> By age 17, Rector developed severe anger issues and regularly got into fights, reportedly due to a mix of insecurity about his poor academic performance, insults about his perceived lack of intelligence by classmates and abusive racial remarks from white townsfolk.<ref name="bright" />

After Rector was expelled from school in tenth grade for fighting, he began working as a [[Blue-collar worker|blue-collar]] laborer in construction, often shuffling between Conway and [[Detroit]]. Rector married during this timeframe and had several children, both from his wife and extramarital affairs. His criminal record included disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, assault and battery, grand larceny, forgery, and assault with intent to kill; all charges either led to monetary fines or were dismissed with prejudice.<ref name="bright" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Janos |first=Adam |date=May 12, 2020 |title=Rickey Ray Rector, The Death Row Inmate Who Lobotomized Himself |url=https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/rickey-ray-rector-killer-who-lobotomized-himself |access-date= |website=A&E |language=en}}</ref>