Story Overview

"I don't wanna die". This is a real fictional story of the last 13 hours of Virgil Shelton's life. He is a condemned murderer housed in the Tennessee Death Row. During his 16 years on death row, he has written several stories that he describes as his memoirs. Shelton has what he believes is a secret that might prevent him from being executed. That secret is the murder of three people in Kent, Iowa.

Relationships and Developments

While on death row, he develops an unusual relationship with an old prison guard, who has his secret. The guard, Stoney Fox, has worked on death row for over 35 years and witnessed 41 executions. Fox's relationship with Shelton provides him with some stability and the realization that he just might be executed and accepts that fact.

Victims and Mysteries

Meanwhile, one of Shelton's victims in Kent, Iowa was a black woman who was reading the Bible when he murdered her. She was reading the book of Isaiah. Shelton has been confounded about the book of Isaiah, for all the years on death row. One day, Shelton receives a letter from a parishioner of a church who is supporting him. Shockingly, the letter reveals that her grandmother was killed by a monster in Kent, Iowa. That monster was him. Now, he knows that he can never reveal that secret.

Climax and Resolution

However, just before he dies, Fox has summoned the relatives of the victims in Kent, Iowa. To everyone's utter amazement, Shelton provides a stunning confession to those crimes and asks both the relatives and victims to forgive him as he is dying. The guard also reveals to him the precise two passages in the book of Isaiah she was reading before he killed her. The old prison guard's final words to him are: "I will finish your memoirs son". These are the stories of Virgil Shelton.