Dorius leaves the Board of Pardons hearing feeling grudging respect for Gary’s composure during the hunger strike and takes satisfaction in being central to a case of national attention. He focuses on protecting Warden Smith and the prison from press access, arguing that publicity around one inmate disrupts discipline.

Dorius files a petition for a Writ of Mandamus to the Tenth Circuit to challenge Judge Ritter’s order. New suits are filed, including ABC and the Deseret News seeking interview access, and Dorius performs poorly in state court while questioning Schiller. Judge Marcellus Snow allows an interview, but Dorius races to the Utah Supreme Court and secures a temporary stay for that night. The next day, the US Supreme Court issues a stay after a petition tied to Gary’s mother. Dorius is taken off the Supreme Court work. Gary continues using the hunger strike to pressure the hospital to allow a phone call to Nicole.

Schiller wants Los Angeles Times reporter Dave Johnston “to work on questions” (689); he hopes Johnston’s familiarity with Mormonism will help to explore Gary’s beliefs about death and an afterlife. After hearing lawyers’ taped conversations with Gary, Schiller decides the questions should be answered in writing. Gary sends written replies that say he killed the two men to avoid killing Nicole and later regretted the murders. He rejects televising the execution, calls it “too macabre,” and describes death as something he expects to feel “familiar.”

On his 36th birthday, Gary complains about notoriety, and Vern manages a list of cash gifts that Gary orders for relatives, friends, and inmates, sometimes delaying (or withholding) payments. Gary dictates an open letter to his mother, urging her to stop legal efforts. During a later call, he makes overtly racist remarks regarding a possible defense of him by the NCAAP. At the state hospital, Nicole remains isolated, threatens self-harm, receives a censored letter from Gary through counsel, and secretly sends him a birthday letter declaring love and despair.

Mikal contacts Gary after hearing of the case in the news, but Gary is distant, and Mikal must acknowledge that he has “cut the family off” (701). After dissatisfaction with Dennis Boaz, Mikal speaks with Stanford law professor Anthony Amsterdam, who offers pro bono representation and proposes filing a petition on behalf of their mother. Amsterdam argues that Gary may be incompetent, improperly advised, and allowed to waive rights without adequate judicial safeguards. Richard Giauque files the petition, and the United States Supreme Court grants a stay of execution.

Meanwhile, Earl Dorius secures a writ of mandamus in Denver barring media access and considers it a professional victory. Assistant Attorney General Bill Barrett leads an intensive effort to answer the Supreme Court petition, arguing Bessie lacks authority to act for her son and that death by suicide does not automatically prove incompetence. The state brief defends Gary’s right to accept execution as a rational choice.

Schiller calculates that he needs about $60,000 beyond ABC’s money and decides the only option is to sell the letters Gary has written to Nicole. He pressures Moody and Stanger to secure the letters and a trial transcript, argues they must be prepared if Gary later seeks an appeal, and offers to pay transcription costs. Wootton agrees to release the originals in exchange for copies, and his girlfriend Stephanie retrieves them.

Schiller rents a high-speed copier in Provo and spends hours producing multiple sets, planning to keep working copies and sell portions to outlets such as the National Enquirer, Time, and possibly Playboy. After Schiller’s public identification as a producer, Warden Smith tightens visit rules, forcing the lawyers into a series of confrontations. After “sixteen days without eating” (713), Gary demands a phone call to Nicole, offering a bribe, but Schiller refuses and sends a telegram rejecting it.

Schiller reads an advance of Barry Farrell’s New West article, which portrays the scramble for rights. In the article, Farrell labels Schiller a “carrion bird.” Schiller decides the overall treatment is fair and—frustrated by Moody and Stanger’s thin, error-prone taped interviews—looks for a stronger journalist to shape a Playboy interview. He recalls Farrell’s skill from Life and offers $5,000 to edit the Playboy material. Farrell agrees. Schiller also closes a $22,000 deal with Playboy’s editor and recruits Tamera as a local “pipeline” to the Deseret News, offering access and inside participation for information and contacts. He also predicts that he can use Tamera’s help when Nicole leaves the hospital.

Nicole remains confined in a psychiatric ward under constant surveillance and rigid rules, including a ban on speaking Gary’s name and on newspapers. She clashes with staff and patients, is physically forced into meetings, and feels the ward’s rule-making culture is coercive and degrading. She alternates between fantasies of escape and attempts to appear stable to Doctor Woods, talking herself into a possible life without Gary, while fearing permanent separation.

In a letter, Gibbs tells Gary that he expects to be tried and released soon and asks if Gary wants anything done before he leaves Utah. On December 11th, Vern Damico visits the county jail and gives Gibbs a $2,000 check as a “token” from Gary. Gary explains to Gibbs that he is still refusing food until he can speak with Nicole, saying that he is growing angrier and that he is convinced the hospital is “brainwashing” her. In calls with Moody and Stanger, Gary insists the hunger strike will end only with that phone call, while his weight loss has become visible and is affecting his speech.

Gary asks Vern and Ida to take $1,000 to his mother Bessie, and Vern coordinates with Schiller, who wants a release signed. Vern and Ida fly to Portland, find Bessie in a trailer park, and discover she is unwell and short of food. Vern buys groceries and leaves $1,000 from Gary, but Bessie refuses to sign Schiller’s papers and says she will “wait and see” (732).

On December 13th, the US Supreme Court lifts the stay 5-4, restoring the execution schedule. Gary ends his 25-day hunger strike, though he never receives the Nicole phone call. He tells Stanger he will answer more written questions, but many replies are evasive or blank. In later answers, he complains that writing is inadequate, speaks about jail and death, describes his bond with Nicole, and praises his mother. He also sends Schiller a poem titled “The Land Lord, an introspection by Gary Gilmore” (737), presenting himself as confronting his own nature and declaring control over his inner life.