Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was strip searched, shackled and moved on tonight to a small, windowless cell near the death chamber, his final stop before his execution.
The decorated Army veteran, who masterminded the worst terrorist attack ever on US. soil, was calm during the transfer by van from death row to the death house, a small red brick building surrounded by a high barbed wire fence.
"Inmate McVeigh was cooperative and the movement occurred without incident," the federal prison said in a statement.
People who have spoken to McVeigh described him as stoic in the face of death and determined not to revive his legal appeals in the hours before the execution scheduled for 1pm tomorrow.
"Tim is in a good frame of mind. He is prepared and is ready to go ahead with this execution tomorrow morning. ... I do not believe that Tim is scared," McVeigh lawyer Mr Chris Tritico told CNN.
McVeigh remained publicly unapologetic for the deaths of 168 men, women and children in the 1995 truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building, although newly released letters he wrote to newspaper reporters hinted at remorse.
"I am sorry these people had to lose their lives," McVeigh said. "But that's the nature of the beast. It's understood going in what the human toll will be."
The letters were addressed to reporters Mr Dan Herbeck and Mr Lou Michel of the Buffalo News, authors of a book based on prison interviews with McVeigh, who grew up near Buffalo, New York. They were published in today's edition of the newspaper.