Warden Sam Smith contacts Earl Dorius about allowing Dennis Boaz to see Gary as an exception to the no-press policy. Dorius and Bill Barrett hear more reports about Gilmore’s prior behavior in Oregon prisons while they attend a corrections conference.

The Utah Supreme Court grants a stay of execution after Snyder and Esplin petition for an appeal. Gary submits a written protest to the court. Gary tells Chaplain Cline Campbell he needs a new lawyer and asks him to locate Boaz. Campbell drives Boaz to the prison. Smith refuses entry to Boaz as a writer but permits access if Boaz enters as legal counsel. Boaz is brought to Maximum Security without his tape recorder.

Boaz meets Gary and describes his legal background and personal beliefs. Gary discusses books and ideas, including reincarnation and “numerology.” Gary states he wants execution to proceed without delay and asks Boaz to represent him. Boaz agrees. Boaz goes to the Attorney General’s office and meets Robert Hansen, who says the state’s position is that the sentence proceeds as the lawful punishment, not because Gary desires death.

Arrangements are made for Boaz to appear before the Utah Supreme Court with local sponsorship. At the hearing, Boaz argues that Gary is competent and wants to waive appeal. Gary confirms he fired Snyder and Esplin and says he accepts the sentence and wants to be executed.  Snyder argues the court should require review because the waiver resembles death by suicide and because possible errors exist. The court lifts the stay by a 4-1 vote, restoring the execution date. Gary and Boaz agree to split the proceeds from any writing.

Reporters are unable to secure interviews with Gary, so attention shifts to Nicole. Tamera Smith of the Deseret News recalls meeting Nicole at a preliminary hearing. Nicole agrees to speak to Tamera off the record.

Over lunch in Provo, Nicole speaks openly about recent deaths in her life, including her grandfather and former boyfriend Kip, and says she plans to die by suicide when Gary is executed. Tamera believes that Nicole is “waiting out her death date just like Gilmore” (541). Nicole admits she and Gary speak of little else and worries she is neglecting her children. Tamera offers to write a story for Nicole’s approval, but Nicole declines. Later, she allows Tamera to read Gary’s letters and copy selected passages, with the understanding that nothing will be published until after Nicole is dead. Tamera informs her editor of Nicole’s suicidal intentions, and authorities are alerted. Media pressure increases, and Tamera is assigned exclusively to cover Nicole.

When Governor Calvin Rampton issues a stay of execution pending review by the Board of Pardons, Nicole reacts with shock. She insists she will attend the execution if it proceeds and asks Tamera to safeguard Gary’s letters. Nicole tells Tamera she has considered leaving her children with her former mother-in-law, Marie Barrett. After dropping Nicole at the prison, Tamera retrieves the letters from the apartment and searches for pills or a gun. Gary publicly claims to be “disappointed and angered” at the governor’s intervention (548).

Earl Dorius leaves a corrections conference in Phoenix after Governor Calvin Rampton issues a stay of execution. Media attention intensifies. Dennis Boaz signs an agreement with Warden Smith to act only as Gary’s attorney but publicly states he intends to “make some money” from the story (550). He sells interviews to a London newspaper and a Swedish publication, angering Smith, who confronts him at the prison. Boaz continues holding frequent press conferences, criticizing the governor’s stay, arguing for open executions, and defending Gary’s wish to accept the sentence. He discloses his debts and discusses potential film deals with David Susskind and Larry Schiller, negotiating possible rights to Gary’s story.

Gary writes to Nicole, expressing discomfort with the growing publicity and Boaz’s expanding role. Nicole attends her grandfather’s funeral and continues to visit the prison, though a stay delays the execution again. Tamera Smith copies Gary’s letters but faces an ethical dilemma about publishing them. Nicole retrieves the letters, and Tamera remains close, hoping to distract her from thoughts of death by suicide if she can “change [Nicole’s] attitude about life a little bit” (559).

Religious leaders in Utah publicly debate capital punishment as media attention intensifies. Some clergy oppose the death penalty on moral grounds, while others note that Gary’s case is unusual because he seeks execution. Officials prepare rifles previously used in executions and individuals, including a former employer, volunteer for Gary’s firing squad. Boaz faces criticism for profiting from the story, though former associates defend his character. Gary writes to Nicole expressing discomfort with fame and asking that she remember they are simply “Gary and Nicole” (561). He also writes to friends and arranges financial help for his mother.

Family tensions ease when Vern visits Gary, and they reconcile. Gary asks about donating his pituitary gland to help Brenda’s daughter. Meanwhile, Nicole informs Tamera that she has agreed to a paid interview. Under pressure from Gary to secure sleeping pills, Nicole obtains Seconal and Dalmane from several doctors. During a prison visit, she secretly transfers half to Gary, concealing the capsules in balloons as they kiss “like crazy.”

That night, after visiting her children and making small gifts, Nicole completes a detailed will requesting custody of her children by Tom and Marie Barrett, cremation, and the handling of her belongings and letters. Near midnight, she swallows the remaining pills, locks the door, lies down holding Gary’s picture, and leaves farewell letters to her family that insist that she has “made [her] own choice” (573).