Memoirs from Death Row, provide the reader with the intense 13-hour countdown to the execution of a fictional character on Tennessee Death Row. The character is Virgil Shelton, who holds a secret that he believes might save his life. There is also an old black, prison guard who has an unusual relationship with him. The guard has a secret as well; he hears condemned men's thoughts. He has been hearing them for over 35 years and 41 executions. As the countdown of his life continues, Shelton is confounded by the book of Isiah, a passage it that one of the victims was reading before he killed her. As his time dwindles, he receives a shocking letter from a parishioner of a church who is supporting him. This letter prevents him from revealing his secret and proceeds to his execution. During his execution, his comes face to face with the relatives of his victims. There before he dies, he confesses to them and God. The old guard's secrets are also revealed when he provides him with those book of Isiah, passages. He then tells Shelton that he will finish his stories.,