Summary, Part Four

The section begins with the description of the Finney County Courthouse where, on the fourth floor, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock are being kept. Smith is held in the “ladies’ cell” which is part of the apartment where the assistant sheriff and his wife, Josephine, live. Perry quickly befriends Josephine, though her husband is quick to warn her of the dangerous Perry Smith. Perry spends his days painting, writing in a journal, sleeping, and training a squirrel who he keeps as a pet and names Red. He also starts to reconnect with an old army friend, Don Cullivan. Dick is less content to remain in his cell. He builds a “shiv” with the intention to escape, though it is quickly confiscated.

Finally, the trial begins, and a psychologist is brought in to evaluate Dick and Perry’s mental state. As the trial continues, several witnesses are called to the stand, including Floyd Wells, Nancy Ewalt and Susan Kidwell, and the Chief Investigator of the Garden City Police Department. However, “The prosecution’s most damaging witness proved to be Alvin Dewey.”  He describes what actually happened the night of November 15, 1959, including Dick’s intention to rape Nancy Clutter, which shocks the crowd, and especially Mr. and Mrs. Hickock.

There is an auction, for all of the Clutters’ belongings. The turnout is huge, as some come merely out of curiosity. No one has been able to see the murder house until now, and the auction is compared to as “a second funeral.”

Dick’s mother doesn’t deal with the trial well. At one point, she is asked to leave the room, and goes to the restroom to cry and confide in a female reporter.

Don Cullivan comes to visit Perry, and had a grand feast with his friend in the prison cell. When the trial resumes, we hear from the psychologist.  Dick is said to be sane for the most part, and in control of his actions. The psychologist isn’t as sure about Perry, though. He says he might be a paranoid schizophrenic.

The trial continues, and after more witnesses and statements, the jury decides that the two killers should suffer the death penalty. They are brought to Death Row, much to the dismay of Josephine, who misses Perry, and Red, who will not permit being fed by her, and instead sits there, waiting for Perry.

Dick and Perry have to wait five years before their sentence is carried out. In that time, they meet many men and learn what they did to end up there. Dick also tries to declare an unfair trial, but on April 14^th, 1965, Death takes the final two victims of the Clutter massacre.

The novel ends with Alvin Dewey recalling a meeting with Susan Kidwell, now a junior at the University of Kansas. She tells him that Bobby is now married, and he thinks of Nancy and the rest of the Clutters. He then turns and walks away, turning his back on the town where the Clutters lived.