Unlike Dick, authorities house in a cell intended for female prisoners inside the Sheriff’s Residence, rather than in the jail itself. Undersheriff Wendell Meier and his wife Josephine currently occupy the house, and Josephine and Perry become friends over the next few months.

One day, Perry, receives a letter from Don Sullivan who served with him in Korea. Although Perry doesn’t share Don’s concern for the state of his soul, he seizes on the chance to correspond with someone.

In March, the sheriff finds and confiscates a shiv in Dick’s cell. Perry also hopes to escape, but his plans hinge on contacting two men who frequent a square outside his cell. When the men no longer appear, Perry fantasizes about killing himself.

Perry and Dick’s court-appointed attorneys persuade Dr. W. Mitchell Jones, a psychiatrist from the state hospital, to interview the men. The lawyers also unsuccessfully lobby to postpone the trial so that it would not coincide with the widely-attended Clutter estate sale.

On March 22, 1960, as jury selection commences, Perry and Smith prepare written autobiographies for Dr. Jones. Witness testimony begins the following day. The individuals who found the bodies are the first to testify, followed by the investigator who photographed the crime scene.