His visitors were joyful and relieved.  Shortly afterward, they left the prison, happy—this wasn't going to be a last visit after all.

But Zeigler believed that he hadn't heard the last word.  He suspected that the state would appeal the stay.  And he was correct: he learned later that evening that Florida's attorney general, James Smith, had flown to Washington to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the stay.

Zeigler was moved out of the Death House to a cell on Q wing.  At that time he knew that if the stay was lifted he would be brought downstairs and executed almost at once.  He went to sleep knowing that he might be awakened by guards taking him to his death.  By his own account, he read the Bible and prayed, as he did every night.  He wrote a short, heartfelt poem about his wife, which he later gave to Leslie Gift.

In Zeigler's words, from a letter he wrote in January, 1992, responding to a series of questions:

After I received my stay on May 19, all of my property was moved from the death house to Q-3-West-5.  This cell is on the third floor of Q wing right above the death chamber.

Ronald Straight was still in the death house in Q-1-East-3.  I was not allowed to go back into the death house to communicate with him. I was taken to my cell and once I was secured there I called through the ventilation shaft to Frog and wished him good luck.

After my visit that afternoon I had left word that I would see no one else.  In other words if things went sour I wasn't going to have anyone here holding my hand.  No man should have those memories to haunt him and especially not on my part.  I was glad that everyone was home and out of the circus atmosphere.

On Q wing the night before an execution it is so quiet you can actually hear your heart beat.  The sounds of the officers opening/closing the security gates and their footsteps making their rounds is deafening. This was not the first time I had been there prior to an execution so the chilling feeling was not new to me.

Special thoughts?  I wondered how my execution would affect my family and friends. This has always been my major concern.  I don't want my death to haunt them or hurt them.  My death should be a matter of rejoicing because all the pain and suffering will be over.  I would be with Eunice, Papa, and Mom and Dad Edwards.

My memories of times past all came flowing back and then the thoughts of the present and future pushed them out and I wondered what Frog was doing/thinking.

Frog was executed at 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday. I was very aware of what was happening.  I watched the vans bring the