US3 min(s) read
Published 09:36 25 Jun 2026 GMT
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.
