Earl Dorius learns from Supreme Court Clerk Michael Rodak that Gil Athay is seeking a stay, then hears that Justice White has denied it. Believing the federal effort is over, he returns home, but Bob Hansen later calls to report that V. Jinks Dabney has demanded an emergency hearing in Judge Ritter’s court on a taxpayers’ suit. State lawyers gather in the Newhouse Hotel lobby with Dabney and Judith Wolbach and wait for Ritter to summon them. Hansen decides not to appear in court and leaves. Near 9 pm, Ritter orders everyone across the street to the courthouse, where reporters begin to arrive, and the attorneys wait again for the judge.

Dabney argues that Utah is executing Gary before the death statute has received meaningful appellate review, and claims the statute is unconstitutional because it lacks mandatory appeal. He adds that Gary might reconsider if allowed access to Nicole. Dabney cites Supreme Court language indicating the mandatory review issue is not resolved.

Dorius responds that no federal funds are specifically tied to the execution, that the plaintiffs’ delay is improper, and that Utah meets the Supreme Court’s requirements for guided sentencing and separate proceedings. Dabney invokes Flast v. Cohen to support “adequate standing” for the taxpayer. Ritter recesses at 11:39 pm. Wolbach fears the delay means defeat, while Dorius believes Ritter is writing an opinion to support a stay. Elsewhere, Noall Wootton lies awake in Provo awaiting the morning trip to the prison “to witness the execution” (930).

Around 1 am, Gary calls Schiller at the Travelodge. Schiller presses him about hidden truths, prior killings, and his parents, asking whether he still has anything “to hide” about his life. Gary denies killing anyone besides Jensen and Bushnell and fiercely defends his mother, praising her endurance through poverty and illness. As Gary begins recounting an earlier violent impulse from his youth, news interrupts the call: Judge Ritter has issued a stay of execution. Gary erupts in anger, demanding that the Attorney General overturn it and declaring he will hang himself if necessary because he wants “it to be over” (935). Schiller urges him to hold together while arranging calls to state officials.

In court, Ritter rules that Utah’s death penalty statute has not been held constitutional and that consent cannot authorize execution. The Temporary Restraining Order is signed shortly after 1 am. Back in Maximum Security, inmates react audibly. Gary threatens to die by suicide and is cut off from stimulants. He records an emotional tape for Nicole, alternating between devotion, jealousy, rage, and despair. As dawn approaches, he sorts his belongings, prepares a package for Nicole, and tells Vern that if the execution does not proceed, he will be dead before noon, “one way or another” (944).

Hansen tells Dorius and the other state lawyers that Judge Lewis will hear the matter only as part of a three-judge panel in Denver, so they must finish papers and depart Salt Lake by about 4 am. They type through the night with improvised help and refuse a late call from Gary. Dorius worries they cannot reach a decision before the scheduled 7:49 am execution, sends a code phrase to the prison, and researches whether “sunrise” is legally mandatory or merely descriptive.

In Washington, ACLU lawyer Al Bronstein is alerted to be ready at the Supreme Court but lacks basic details of the case. Phil Hansen and Ritter calculate that the close timing makes an execution impossible that morning. Wolbach learns Dabney will not fly, forcing her to rely on Denver ACLU lawyers. State and ACLU lawyers, Judge Lewis, and a reporter fly to Denver in heavy turbulence, then have a “footrace” against the media as they run into the courthouse for an emergency hearing as Bronstein files a placeholder application with the Supreme Court clerk.

Toni returns to the prison before dawn but is told she cannot see Gary again. She waits in Minimum Security until Dick Gray urges her to stop trying and remember the prior night, warning that her distress could unsettle Gary. Toni leaves, thinking Gary is “real scared” and does not want to die. Schiller arrives at the gate before 6 am, is admitted, and is escorted to the Minimum Security visitors’ room. Exhaustion and anxiety overwhelm him. He realizes he has no notepad and will have to write on “the backs of checks” (958). He suffers acute stomach spasms and repeated trips to the bathroom.

In Salt Lake, Deamer searches for authority on how late after sunrise an execution can occur, finds little, and learns from Denver that they will instead try to amend the death warrant. Wootton, reluctant to witness the execution, briefs Judge Bullock, who agrees to change the order’s timing language. At Maximum, staff tells the witnesses to say goodbye as the prison proceeds as if the execution is still “on.” Gary is calm, suggesting that he is ready to die. His calm breaks when he refuses to wear the leg shackles, leading to “one final fight” (961). Moody is ordered out as guards take Gary away.

At 6:50 am, Judges Lewis, Doyle, and Breitenstein take the bench in Denver. Bob Hansen begins, then Earl Dorius argues that the ACLU filed too late, lacks standing, and that Judge Ritter abused discretion by issuing a stay without proof that federal funds were used. The panel presses for brevity. ACLU counsel, including Judith Wolbach, arrive moments later and argue that mandamus is improper because Ritter acted within his authority. The judges cut them short and focus on urgency.

After a brief recess, the clerk reads the order at 7:35 am: The Writ of Mandamus is granted, Ritter’s Temporary Restraining Order is vacated, and he is barred from further action unless requested by Gary or his counsel. Dorius telephones the prison using the code “Eudora from Park Hill” and instructs that the execution proceed (965), explaining that the day, not the precise sunrise minute, controls. He warns that only a Supreme Court stay, signaled as “Mickey from Wheeling” (967), could stop it.

At 7:35 am, Gordon Richards informs Mike Deamer that the Tenth Circuit has lifted Judge Ritter’s stay. Deamer, surprised by the speed, confirms there is no legal barrier remaining. He tells Richards the Warden may proceed with the execution. Though the ACLU is seeking relief from the Supreme Court, Deamer advises that they are not required to anticipate a possible stay. He verifies the order with Clerk Howard Phillips and publicly confirms the execution will go forward.

Richards calls again near 7:55 am. Gary has been moved to the execution site. Deamer again authorizes them to proceed, consciously taking responsibility rather than leaving it to a junior colleague. He chooses not to contact Governor Matheson, believing the lawful order is clear and preferring not to invite delay. Al Bronstein files emergency applications with Justices White and Marshall; both are denied. The full Supreme Court, through Chief Justice Burger, rejects the stay at 10:03 am, so that “every last legal resource has been used” (972).

Schiller waits with other witnesses in the Minimum Security room as people arrive, including Toni and a doctor identified as responsible for removing Gary’s eyes (so they can be donated). Stanger is tense about the changed death warrant. A guard announces the stay is overturned, and witnesses are rushed to vehicles while reporters outside are roused.

Gary is brought from Maximum, placed in a van with Father Meersman, and driven alone through a prison compound to the cannery. Gary studies a photo of Nicole, asks that the radio remain on, and listens to “La Paloma Blanca” during the drive. The practiced transfer proceeds smoothly. Gary is strapped into a chair before a blind with rifle slits and a mattress-and-sandbag backstop. Witnesses survey the crowd, the improvised setting, and Gary’s composure. He shakes hands, gives Vern a watch for Nicole broken at the time of his execution, and says, “[L]et’s do it” (984).

After last rites are read and a hood placed on his head, shots are fired. A doctor confirms Gary’s death after a brief interval. Richards receives a Supreme Court denial moments after the shooting. Witnesses then give statements at a crowded press conference; the official time is 8:07 am.