The murderers were held in FInney county jail where there were six cells. The sixth cell was reserved for women inmates. Perry Smith became the first man to be housed in the sixth cell, which was adjacent to the kitchen of Mr. and Mrs. Meier (the warden and his wife). Dick was put in the first cell, they wanted to keep the two as far away as possible. Mrs. Meier took a liking toward Perry and prepared his favorite dinner dish for him, Spanish rice, frequently. Snow fell on Kansas. Dewey came to the jail with a printed statement with the confessions on them and had both perpetrators sign them. Perry refused to sign because he said he had not told the complete truth and wished for something to be changed: that he was actually the one to shoot all four members of the family.
Mr. Fleming was the lawyer assigned to Perry. Perry was asked to take a lie detector test about the Walker case. The Walker case was very similar to the Clutter case in that four members of a family were killed in cold blood. The results came back inconclusive. The Walker case was never solved.
Perry receives a letter from Don Cullivan, a man he used to be in combat with. Perry was ecstatic to have a “friend.” He thought about using Don as a means of escape, but wanted to include Dick, and abandoned those plans. March 10th- sheriff finds a shiv under Dick’s mattress. Perry contemplates suicide via broken lightbulb.
The trial is scheduled for March 22, 1960. Prior to trial Dick and Perry are sent to a clinic in Larned to determine if they are “criminally insane.” The same day of the trial, the Clutter’s home, and its contents are sold at auction.
At this point the Clutter case has been long forgotten by the nation. 14 men have been selected for the jury and Judge Tate was in charge of the proceedings. Both Dick and
Perry were asked to write a statement about themselves to be presented to the jurors. Perry wrote of his childhood, his familial abuse and abuse suffered in the nunnery. He wrote of the suicides of his siblings, and his jail time. Dick writes less eloquently. He writes little of his early life. He comments on his 1st and 2nd wives his accounts with burglary and his struggle with pedophilia and pleads the jurors for help.
Wednesday the trial begins. Nancy Ewalt and Susan Kidwell, the girls that found the bodies are two witnesses brought to the stand. Both pictures of footprints are presented as evidence. .
The jury sentenced both defendants to death.
That night, Mrs. Meier can hear Perry crying like a child from her kitchen. The next morning they are taken to Lavenworth, the Kansas state prison and taken to death row. Their first scheduled execution date is May 13, 1960.
There were three others on death row when they arrived: Earl Wilson, Bobby Joe Spencer, and Mr. Lowell Lee Andrews. Wilson was a black man committed for the kidnapping, rape, and torture of a young white woman who survived but with severe disabilities. Spencer was a white man sentenced for murdering an elderly Kansas woman who was the owner of his boarding house. Andrews, the most famous of their companions on death row, was convicted of the murder of his whole family. He was very smart and thought to have ‘simple schizophrenia’ as well.
May 13th passed - The Supreme Court granted a stay pending appeals. From their separate stalls, Dick and Perry could not see one another, but they could converse. Perry hated Andrews though, for correcting his grammar, so he talked infrequently. Perry began to starve himself in an attempt of suicide but decided to break his fast and in October was returned to his cell.
2 years pass. Wilson and Spencer are both hanged.
The building was very old causing it to be very cold in the winter and insanely hot in the summers. Death row did not participate in the work routine, and so were only allowed out of their cells once a week for a bath and change of clothing.
George Ronald York and James Douglas Lathman joined death row for killing seven people across the country.
Hickock. who had started reading law book, began to fight his conviction. He wrote letters of an unfair trial and attacked Fleming and Smith for an inadequate job. Shultz- who was incharge of the case- filed a habeas corpus petition. The case had a second hearing that lasted 6 days, but the appeal was denied. Ina report to the Kansas Supreme Court, Judge heile found the petitioners to have had a fair trial and denied the writ to abolish their verdict. Their new date for execution was October 25, 1962. However, they were granted reprieve by a federal judge and evaded the date.
Andrews was hung November 30th, 1962. His heart kept beating for 19 minutes. Another three years passed and lawyers Joseph P. Jenkins and Robert Bingham replaced Shultz. Their case was brought to the Supreme Court three times before they were hanged.
Mr. Fleming was the lawyer assigned to Perry. Perry was asked to take a lie detector test about the Walker case. The Walker case was very similar to the Clutter case in that four members of a family were killed in cold blood. The results came back inconclusive. The Walker case was never solved.
Perry receives a letter from Don Cullivan, a man he used to be in combat with. Perry was ecstatic to have a “friend.” He thought about using Don as a means of escape, but wanted to include Dick, and abandoned those plans. March 10th- sheriff finds a shiv under Dick’s mattress. Perry contemplates suicide via broken lightbulb.
The trial is scheduled for March 22, 1960. Prior to trial Dick and Perry are sent to a clinic in Larned to determine if they are “criminally insane.” The same day of the trial, the Clutter’s home, and its contents are sold at auction.
At this point the Clutter case has been long forgotten by the nation. 14 men have been selected for the jury and Judge Tate was in charge of the proceedings. Both Dick and
Perry were asked to write a statement about themselves to be presented to the jurors. Perry wrote of his childhood, his familial abuse and abuse suffered in the nunnery. He wrote of the suicides of his siblings, and his jail time. Dick writes less eloquently. He writes little of his early life. He comments on his 1st and 2nd wives his accounts with burglary and his struggle with pedophilia and pleads the jurors for help.
Wednesday the trial begins. Nancy Ewalt and Susan Kidwell, the girls that found the bodies are two witnesses brought to the stand. Both pictures of footprints are presented as evidence. .
Dick believes everyone is biased, “The judge up there! I never seen a man so prejudiced- Just no sense in having a trial. Not with him in charge. Why, that man was a pallbearer at the funeral!” Floyd Wells offers his testimony. Fleming, Hickock’s attorney, tries to set him up as an accessory to the crime, but ultimately Wells went free and collected his reward. Dewey offered the most damaging testimony. He spoke of the men’s confessions and his investigations of the murders. Don Cullivan served as a character witness for Perry but did not win him much support.
Perry hosted dinner for Cullivan in his cell where they could talk privately. Perry openly contemplated suicide to Cullivan and said maybe he should do it then when he had someone who kind of cared for him there.
The defendants refused to testify on their own behalf. Mr. Hickock claims that Dick was never the same after a car crash he had endured in 1950. The lawyer soon shut this theory down by when it was brought to light that Dick had a criminal record prior to 1950: he had been arrested in 1949. Dr. Jones (the doctor from Larned) took the stand but was only permitted to answer yes or no to the questions asked of him. He was asked if the defendants knew right from wrong at the time their committed their crime. When asked this in regards to Dick, Dr. Jones answered that yes, he did know right from wrong, but with Perry he said he had not formed an opinion as of late. He was dismissed. Upon further examination though, Dr. Jones had many more feeling about Perry’s case though. Based on childhood experiences and current behavior Dr. Jones would dub him a ‘simple schizophrenic. Lastly, Joe James, another character witness for Perry took the stand, but was quickly dismissed.
The lawyers made their final statements. Fleming mostly fought for life imprisonment, relying on Christian jurors to recognize the death penalty as morally wrong. The jury sentenced both defendants to death.
That night, Mrs. Meier can hear Perry crying like a child from her kitchen. The next morning they are taken to Lavenworth, the Kansas state prison and taken to death row. Their first scheduled execution date is May 13, 1960.
There were three others on death row when they arrived: Earl Wilson, Bobby Joe Spencer, and Mr. Lowell Lee Andrews. Wilson was a black man committed for the kidnapping, rape, and torture of a young white woman who survived but with severe disabilities. Spencer was a white man sentenced for murdering an elderly Kansas woman who was the owner of his boarding house. Andrews, the most famous of their companions on death row, was convicted of the murder of his whole family. He was very smart and thought to have ‘simple schizophrenia’ as well.
May 13th passed - The Supreme Court granted a stay pending appeals. From their separate stalls, Dick and Perry could not see one another, but they could converse. Perry hated Andrews though, for correcting his grammar, so he talked infrequently. Perry began to starve himself in an attempt of suicide but decided to break his fast and in October was returned to his cell.
2 years pass. Wilson and Spencer are both hanged.
The building was very old causing it to be very cold in the winter and insanely hot in the summers. Death row did not participate in the work routine, and so were only allowed out of their cells once a week for a bath and change of clothing.
George Ronald York and James Douglas Lathman joined death row for killing seven people across the country.
Hickock. who had started reading law book, began to fight his conviction. He wrote letters of an unfair trial and attacked Fleming and Smith for an inadequate job. Shultz- who was incharge of the case- filed a habeas corpus petition. The case had a second hearing that lasted 6 days, but the appeal was denied. Ina report to the Kansas Supreme Court, Judge heile found the petitioners to have had a fair trial and denied the writ to abolish their verdict. Their new date for execution was October 25, 1962. However, they were granted reprieve by a federal judge and evaded the date.
Andrews was hung November 30th, 1962. His heart kept beating for 19 minutes. Another three years passed and lawyers Joseph P. Jenkins and Robert Bingham replaced Shultz. Their case was brought to the Supreme Court three times before they were hanged.
On April 15, 1965 Richard Eugene Hickock was hanged at 33 years old at 12:41 in the morning. Perry Smith, at age 36, was hanged at 1:19 in the morning. Dewey went to both the hangings but felt no catharsis at seeing the men die. The warden read a recitation and asked for any last words, to which Hickock responded, “I just want to say I hold no hard feelings. You people are sending me to a better world than this ever was.” Perry responded, “I think, its a helluva thing to take a life in the manner. I don’t believe in capital punishment, morally or legally. Maybe I had something to contribute, something- It would be meaningless to apologize for what I did. Even inappropriate. But I do. I apologize.”
The book ends with Dewey visiting the Clutter grave. He runs into Susan Kidwell,Nancy’s friend, who is now a junior in college, who has moved on with her life, and now so can Dewey.
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