***SPOILERS*** Soon to be executed for a crime, the murder of a female student, that he swears that he didn't commit English professor Herbert Morrison, Brian Keith, is determined to die with dignity and not beg his jailers at the prison for his life in order to get a stay of execution. All that would do Morrison tells his fellow death row inmate Hannessy, James Best, is to prolong his suffering until he's finally gassed to death. All Morrison wants a full pardon exonerating him of of the crime he's been charged with and nothing else.
With the time for him to take a trip in to the gas chamber quickly dwindling down Morrison's hatred of the guard Pops Cafferity, James Westerfield, who leads condemned men like himself into the little green room becomes almost incontrollable. More then willing to meet his fate as well as his maker Morrison just can't stand the fact that Pops is getting his jollies in seeing him die just like he did when the young and terrified convicted murderer De Baca, Sal Ponti, died in the execution room the week before. It's just before he was to be strapped into the gas chamber that the cool as a cucumber Morrison suddenly flipped out attacking and breaking Pops neck killing him.
***SPOILERS*** Unknown to Morrison is that his lawyer Murray Bird, Frank Maxwell, got word to prison Warden Everly, Robert Carson, that the real killer of the person whom he was convicted of murdering confessed to his crime. Thus having Morrison being granted a full pardon which is what he always wanted! But with a new murder charge now hanging over his head all Morrison can do is wait from the enviable, the trip to the gas chamber, but that won't be the instant fix that he want's it to be! It would takes him some two to three years of both suffering on death row and realizing just what a jerk he was to make that all become a reality.