Chapter three begins with Meursault being taken to the courthouse for his trial. It is summertime and hot, but he is curious because he has never seen a trial before. The press was there covering a parricide case that was also being tried. Meursault saw Thomas Perez, Raymond, Masson, Salamano and Marie there; she waved to him. They asked him a lot of questions about his mother, which irritated him and about his motivation for killing the Arab. The prosecutor focused on his odd behavior during his mother's vigil and how he should have refused the coffee that was offered to him. Celeste testified that he thought what happened was just bad luck, which Meursault appreciated. Marie explained how they began dating the day after his mother's funeral when they went swimming and then saw a comedy at the theater. Raymond tried to say that Meursault was innocent and that it all happened just by chance.

     In chapter four, Meursault's lawyer keeps telling him to keep quiet even though he sometimes felt like speaking up. They tried to show that his crime was premeditated and even Meursault thought what they said sounded plausible. Finally, when Meursault took the stand and was asked about his motives, he claimed that it happened because of the sun. The verdict was announced, and he was found guilty of premeditated murder with the punishment of beheading. When they asked him if he had anything else to say, he said no.

     In chapter five, Meursault continues to reject visits from the chaplain. He thinks about the guillotine and wishes it left a man a bit of hope, but it didn't. It only forced a man to hope it would work the first time so that he would not have to endure any extra suffering. He thinks about the father he never knew. His mother told him one story about his dad when he'd gone to watch someone be executed, and it made him sick. Meursault thought that there was nothing more important than an execution and wishes he could have attended them for other people. He remembered that Maman used to tell him people could always find something to be happy about, and he agreed. He was able to see the sky from the window in his cell, and he couldn't hear footsteps outside, which made him relax.

     Briefly, he thought about his appeal, but he decided it was better to accept the fact that it would be rejected. He assumed Marie was dead or at least had moved on to someone new. The chaplain returned and tried to question him about God, but Meursault insisted that he did not want to talk about things which did not interest him. Meursault knew nothing mattered, and they were all condemned to die, so he didn't need God. The chaplain made him mad when he asked why Meursault was calling him his father, so the guards pulled him away. When he calmed down, he began to wish that a crowd would gather for his execution and greet him with boos and hatred.

     Some people speculate that part of Meursault's problem was his high intelligence, which led to pushing away frustration in the form of relationships, emotions, and God. He appears to be the character identified in the title as readers never even learn his first name and by the end feel as though he is still a stranger in so many ways.