US3 min(s) read
Although the tradition of death row inmates having one final blowout meal before they are given their long-anticipated punishment is dying out, around 12 states have kept the custom - but there is one menu item that is completely off limits.
A study by Cornell University on the most popular last-meal requests found that junk food, such as hamburgers, fries, pizzas, and fried chicken, was the most frequently requested luxury.
It is thought that fried food is highly requested as it is often nostalgic, simple, and a luxury that would not be too much of a shock to the taste buds or gut after years of eating canteen food in a high-security prison.
Foods high in fat and sodium also release dopamine, which may help mask the nerves of someone who knows their life will be ending in a matter of hours.
Ice cream, apple pies, and cake are commonly requested for dessert, and many inmates request soda to accompany their final meal, but the one thing that they will always be denied is alcohol.
The vast majority of prisons consider any form of alcoholic beverage as contraband, so it is strictly forbidden inside.
Booze has been banned behind bars for so long that the last death row prisoner to be given the luxury of a “nip of brandy” was Manuel Fernandez in 1835. He was also granted a few tokes on a cigar as he took his last breaths.
Unsurprisingly, cigarettes and tobacco are also prohibited.
The reason some states have abolished the final meal tradition altogether is that a handful of prisoners took complete advantage and ordered in absolute excess.
In 2011, Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was incarcerated over a racially motivated murder, ordered such a massive amount of food that it ultimately led to the prison scrapping the last meal tradition entirely.
The convicted murderer notoriously requested: two chicken fried steaks smothered in gravy with sliced onions; a triple bacon cheeseburger with fixings on the side; a cheese omelette with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, peppers and jalapenos; a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecue meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas with all the trimmings; a Meat Lovers pizza; one pint of vanilla ice cream; a slab of peanut butter fudge; and three root beers.
When the food arrived, Brewer refused to eat any of it, telling prison staff he wasn't hungry.
Outraged by the waste and the manipulation of the system, Texas Senator John Whitmire pressured the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to end the traditional "last meal" privilege.
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The concept of a ‘last meal’ is one of the more curious aspects of the US justice system, which allows prisoners on death row to order a final bespoke meal the night before their execution.
Although the practice varies from state to state, inmates are usually told to prepare a menu in advance and typically ask for a mountain of junk food - including pizza, hamburgers, fried chicken, and steak, along with heaps of chocolate and ice cream for dessert.
Different states have different rules - some enforce a strict $40 limit on an inmate’s requests, while others insist that all food must be bought and prepared locally in order to prevent prisoners from requesting overly-exotic and expensive foods.
But over in Texas, last meals have been scrapped altogether, after a condemned prisoner took advantage of a loophole to spite his captors one last time before they executed him.
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal JusticeLawrence Russell Brewer was a white supremacist who was sentenced to death for the racially-motivated killing of James Byrd Jr, who he murdered with the help of three accomplices by dragging him along behind a pick-up truck for three miles along a road.
Brewer and his accomplices were the first white men to receive the death penalty in Texas for the murder of a Black man, and after 21 years on death row, he was finally executed in 2011.
As was standard practice at the time, shortly before his execution Brewer was asked what he wanted for his final meal, and responded with an absolutely enormous mountain of food.
According to a report from the New York Times, Brewer was served two chicken fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions, a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger, and a cheese omelet with beef mince, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and jalapenos.
Credit: Wirestock, Inc. / AlamyBut that wasn’t all. In addition, he was also served a bowl of fried okra with ketchup, a pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread, three fajitas, and a meat pizza.
For dessert, he was given a pint of 'homemade vanilla' Blue Bell ice cream, one slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts, and three root beers to wash it all down with.
All in all, it sounds like a meal fit for a king- or it would’ve been if he’d decided to eat any of it.
As it transpired, Brewer didn’t eat a single bite of his elaborate last meal, and only ordered the mountain of food to spite the justice system one last time before they killed him.
Texas lawmakers were so outraged by the disrespect that the practice of last meals was scrapped altogether following his death, with State Senator John Whitmire calling for an immediate ban after claiming Brewer’s actions “made a mockery” of the system.
Huntsville Unit, Texas State Penitentiary. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / AlamySenator Whitmire reportedly said in a statement: “He never gave his victim an opportunity for a last meal. Why in the world are you going to treat him like a celebrity two hours before you execute him?"
“It’s wrong to treat a vicious murderer in this fashion. Let him eat the same meal on the chow line as the others," he added.
Effective immediately, everyone on death row in Texas would eat the same food everybody else did, straight from the prison canteen.
And as for Brewer himself, he remained unrepentant 'til the very end. Speaking KHOU 11 News in Houston the day before his death, he said, per Huffpost: “As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets.
“No, I'd do it all over again, to tell you the truth.”
weird3 min(s) read
If you could have absolutely anything as your last meal on this mortal plane, what would it be? Personally, as a non-meat-eater, I think I'd go for the best lab-grown steak money could buy, accompanied by an uncomfortably large portion of fries and onion rings (all smothered in cheese and peppercorn sauce, of course), and then rounded off with a literal pile of tiramisu, banoffee pie, and chocolate lava cake.
Because if I'm going to go out anyway, I might as well go out on a meal that could kill me in its own right.
Last meal requests are a real thing, of course - albeit very few of them are ever as extravagant as my insane concoction. What with various restrictions and regulations, death row inmates who are entitled to last meals cannot ask for anything too zany.
And yet, this one guy managed to push the boat out pretty far with his menu order.
Keith Leroy Tharpe, who was due to be executed last September for the 1991 murder of Jacquelin Freeman, put in a particularly extreme request for his last meal - the details of which have recently been released. According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, "Tharpe requested a last meal of three spicy chicken breasts, roast beef sandwich with sauce, fish sandwich, tater logs, onion rings, apple pie, and a vanilla milkshake."
Because of Georgia's comparatively lax rules on last meal requests, Tharpe's request was granted - but not every state is quite so generous. Florida prisons, for example, stipulate a $40 budget for inmates' final meals. Texas, by contrast, has no limit on the cost of a meal; however, anything an inmate orders must be prepared on-site in the prison.
And yet, even with all the strict guidelines that must be followed, some former death row inmates managed to have even stranger last meals.
Steven Woods, who was executed for a double homicide in Texas in 2011, consumed a mighty feast for his final meal. He chowed down on a large pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two pounds of bacon, five chicken fried steaks, two bacon hamburgers, a dozen garlic bread sticks, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer, sweet tea, and two pints of ice cream.
Unsurprisingly, Texas implemented their 'no external food' rule shortly after this.
Even more extravagant than that, however, was Robert Dale Conklin's last meal in 2005. The murderer was granted his final request of bacon-wrapped filet mignon, garlic shrimp, a baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives and bacon, corn on the cob, asparagus, bread and butter, goats cheese, a whole melon, some apple pie, iced tea, and vanilla ice cream.
Perhaps the weirdest request of all, though, was that of James Edward Smith. In 1990, he asked for a "lump of dirt." Unfortunately for him, the prison wouldn't allow it, so he settled for a yoghurt instead.
So, while Tharpe's recent request may have been particularly extra (seriously, who could stomach all those different types of food in one sitting), it's certainly not the strangest we've ever heard of. At the time of writing, Tharpe is still on death row, as his execution was stayed at the last minute.
us4 min(s) read
Death row inmates in Texas no longer get a final meal before their execution - and it's down to a white supremacist's shocking request.
For many years, last meals have been a customary ritual before prisoners have their death sentence carried out.
Some convicts' requests have been pretty specific, like when John Wayne Gacy asked for 12 fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe KFC, french fries, and a pound of strawberries. Others have been simple, like Ted Bundy requesting steak and eggs.
However, one inmate named Lawrence Russell Brewer - who was a white supremacist - requested an outrageous special meal before his death, and this led to Texas abolishing last meals for other death row inmates.
Brewer, 44, was imprisoned on June 7, 1998, along with John William King and Shawn Allen Berry for murdering a Black man named James Byrd Jr.
The group of men killed Byrd by torturing him before chaining him by the ankles to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him behind it for three miles, per The Mirror.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice: "Brewer and his co-defendants then dragged the victim to his death, leaving his decapitated and dismembered body to be found the following day by citizens and law enforcement officials," as cited by the outlet.
Brewer and King were convicted of capital murder and sent to death row, making them the first white men to receive the death penalty for killing a Black man in Texas, causing the state to introduce new laws around hate crimes. Meanwhile, Berry received a life sentence for his involvement in the crime.
It was contended in court that the three men carried out their disturbing criminal act "in part, due to their racially separatist affiliation with the Confederate Knights of America and the Ku Klux Klan," per the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Before his execution, Brewer took full advantage of the last meal request, asking for a wild concoction of foods, including chicken steaks, fried okra with ketchup, and a cheese omelet with ground beef, jalapenos, and bell peppers.
It didn't end there as he also requested a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas with all the trimmings, one pound of barbecue and a half loaf of white bread, pizza meat lover's special, one pint of vanilla ice cream; a slab of peanut butter fudge, and three root beers.
The guards did their best to fulfill Brewer's final meal list but, when the prisoner was presented with it, he refused to eat a single mouthful, saying that he wasn't hungry.
Brewer's refusal resulted in Texan Senator John Whitmire ending the 87-year-old tradition, meaning from that day forward, nobody on death row in Texas has had a last meal request granted.
He wrote a letter to the executive director of the Texas Criminal Justice Division, stating: "Enough is enough...it is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. It's a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim," per the BBC.
He called the last meal request an "extremely inappropriate" privilege, adding: "One which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim."
After spending 12 years of his life on death row, Brewer was executed via lethal injection on September 21, 2011. Asked if he had any final words, he replied: "No. I have no final statement," and was pronounced dead at 6.21PM.
The victim's two sisters and a niece called the execution "the next step to total justice for James," as cited by Reuters.
"Hopefully, today we have been reminded that racial hatred and prejudice can lead to tragic consequences for both the victim and his family, as well as the perpetrator and his family," Clara Taylor, Byrd's sister, said. "Our sincere condolences to the family of Lawrence Brewer."
weird3 min(s) read
People have always had a morbid fascination with death row inmates and what they select as their final meals.
Perhaps it's the curiosity of seeing what somebody actually chooses to eat as their final meal on Earth or maybe it's just another glimpse into the minds of the nation's most feared criminals.
Either way, final meals continue to be an eerie tradition to this day.
From one inmate's ludicrous final feast to Texas abolishing all inmate final meal requests after one guy overstepped the mark - there are many fascinating stories to tell.
But perhaps the most bizarre of all is that of Victor Harry Feguer - the convicted killer who ate only a single olive as his final meal.
When he was just 28 years old, Feguer was executed by hanging in 1963.
The Michigan-born killed had been in Iowa three years prior when he started panning the local phone directory for physicians.
After landing on the number of Dr. Edward Bartels, Feguer told the doctor that he was with a woman who was in urgent need of medical attention. And so, Dr. Feguer rushed to the given location.
Sadly, it was all a ruse - and Feguer swiftly kidnapped the 34-year-old doctor.
Dr Bartel was killed in Illinois with a single gunshot to the head - his body dumped in a cornfield.
Just days later, the FBI received a tip-off from a man who Feguer had attempted to sell a car to without the correct paperwork. The information led to Feguer's arrest.
Authorities summarized that Feguer had killed the doctor in an effort to steal any drugs the physician may have been carrying to help treat sick patients. Despite repeatedly professing his innocence, he was sentenced to death.
The story took an unexpected political turn when Feguer successfully lodged an appeal that could have seen President John F. Kennedy secure his life, per the LA Times.
However, JFK reportedly found the crime "so brutal" that the appeal was denied.
"Taking all factors into account, it is my decision that the petition should be and is hereby denied," the President wrote in a memo to Feguer.
When his three years behind bars coming to an end, it was time for Feguer to submit his final meal request.
A single olive - with the pit included.
The New York Daily News reports that Feguer had told guards that - when he was dead and buried - he had hoped that an olive tree would grow where he lay. An olive tree is renowned for being a symbol of peace.
Photographer Henry Hargreaves - who recreated a number of famous last meals for a photo collection called No Seconds - later told CBS News: "It's just such a polarising image.
"We think about last meals, and is it something that's going to be totally gluttonous, and then he just has a single olive."
"You know, it's so simple, beautiful, and kind of final. It's like a full stop at the end of his life."
Prison records state that Feguer grew consistently "quiet" as the days to his execution ticked away.
On the day before he died, he was said to be "cooperative and resigned" - with officers adding that he was "very calm" on the morning of his execution.
After his execution, the olive pit was reportedly found inside Feguer's suit pocket - adding truth to his notion that he wished for a tree to grow after his death.
uncategorised4 min(s) read
Allen Lee Davies
Weighing in at 350lbs, enormous mass-murderer “Tiny” Davies' greatest contribution to society was giving us this template for the indulgent seafood-themed death row dinner. “Tiny” despatched of a whole lobster, a pound of fried potatoes, half a pound of fried shrimp, six ounces of fried clams and a loaf of garlic bread, washed down with 32 ounces of root beer. He may have been nasty, but he knew his seafood. [caption id="attachment_40834" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]
Gary Carl Simmons Jr
For a murderer, Gary Carl Simmons Jr was surprisingly brand-specific. His gargantuan last meal consisted of “one Pizza Hut medium Super Supreme Deep Dish pizza with double portions of mushrooms, onions, jalapeño peppers, and pepperoni, a second Pizza Hut pizza with three cheeses, olives, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, and Italian sausage, 10 eight-ounce packs of Parmesan cheese, 10 eight-ounce packs of ranch dressing, one family size bag of Doritos nacho cheese flavor, eight ounces of jalapeño nacho cheese, four-ounce sliced jalapeños, two large strawberry shakes, two 20-ounce Coca-Cola Cherry Cokes, one super-size order of McDonald's fries with extra ketchup and mayonnaise, and two pints of Haagen Daz strawberry ice cream”. This came in at a colossal 29,000 calories. He ate more than half of it, before presumably exploding.[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BaPwDjkgFlM/]]
Thomas J Grasso
A greedy douche with perhaps a more varied palate than most, Grasso’s last meal took in a range of dishes from across the culinary spectrum. Included were two dozen steamed mussels, two dozen steamed clams, a double cheeseburger from Burger King, half a dozen barbecued spare ribs, two strawberry milkshakes, half a pumpkin pie with whipped cream and diced strawberries, and a 16-ounce can of spaghetti with meatballs. While not as excessive as some, Grasso’s selection represents perhaps a more balanced choice of chow. [caption id="attachment_49756" align="aligncenter" width="1920"]
Lawrence Russell Brewer
Racist killer Lawrence Russell Brewer was the man who made things even worse for death row prisoners in Texas. Brewer’s request and subsequent refusal to eat any of it caused the state to cease the last meal practise altogether. His order consisted of two chicken fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple meat bacon cheeseburger with fixings on the side; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecue ribs with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas with fixings; a Meat Lovers pizza; three root beers; one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream; and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. This obscene request represents an incredibly impressive logistical effort from the prison as much as anything else. Maybe the sight of it being pulled in by what was presumably a tractor was just too intimidating for Brewer.[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BU_rVeCjLsT/]]
There must be something about imminent execution that gives one a seriously enhanced, if not massively over-ambitious, sense of what is possible to fit inside a stomach. But, if anyone reading this is aware of their own impending doom, we hope that these four distasteful characters have given you some inspiration for bowing out with a bang.
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