Earl Williams (John Qualen)’s Timeline and Summary

Williams is fired from his job. The stress unsettles his mind.
He shoots a black policeman.
A woman named Mollie Malloy meets him and is kind to him.
He's arrested. Mollie stays in touch with him.
The Mayor and Sheriff are up for reelection; they hope to get the black vote by executing Williams.
Hildy interviews him to write an article showing he's insane and shouldn't be executed.
During a psychological evaluation, Williams escapes the prison.
He gets into the newsroom, where he finds Hildy.
She hides him in a roll top desk. Walter comes to help get him out of police custody safely.
They're discovered, and it looks like he'll be arrested.
But then a messenger from the governor appears with a pardon. It turns out that he was bribed earlier by the mayor and sheriff to not deliver it.
Earl is pardoned. It's not clear exactly what will happen to him after that. (Prison? An asylum? The film loses interest in him at this point. It's got lead actors to marry off.)