A final meal on death row Should America provide murderers with a lavish last meal?
Hours before convicted murderer Jamie Mills became the latest man to be executed in America, he was granted a special last request: What would he like to eat on his final day on Earth?
The man found guilty in the murder of an elderly couple Alabama, told Alabama prison officials he was looking for to have a buffet of sorts including three large shrimp 2 catfish filets, three oysters as well as three onion rings, and one crab stuffed.
Mills received the meal prior to when being taken into the chamber of death to be killed through lethal injection. But the last meal is not a assurance for those in U.S. prisons. The long-standing tradition is encased in controversy, ethical controversies and even concern about the amount of money that the meal could cost taxpayers.
“Food is the center of attention for us all. It’s a place of enjoyment as well as comfort and pleasure which is a part of the reason it’s so popular,” said Deborah Denno, law professor and founder director of the Neuroscience and Law Center at Fordham University. “It appears that we’d give this to someone who’s eating for the last time. It helps us feel better about ourselves. But, at the same time it’s very bizarre.”
Of the 19 states in which capital punishment is legally is practiced in, an USA TODAY review found that 12 states allow special last meals. And two of them have an upper limit on the cost. Six of them serve only food from prison regardless of what the prisoner asks for or needs. In other words, they do not serve anything outside of the confines of the kitchen of the prison. Kansas Department of Corrections spokesperson David Thompson said the death row food policy in that states remains “under examination” and said the state hasn’t executed a person since the year 1965.
In the month of November, just minutes before the killer Brian Dorsey was executed against his objections of a number of correctional officials along with Missouri’s governor the state provided him with two double cheeseburgers topped with bacon with two strip chicken, 2 big orders of fries that were seasoned and a pizza topped with onions, sausage, pepperoni mushrooms, extra cheese.
The famous final meal the condemned prisoner selects prior to execution has captivated people in the American public and has become an issue of contention within the debate concerning death penalty. execution punishment. Some criminal justice advocates believe it is an act of mercy before inflicting the severest punishment, while others say that it’s a disgrace for those forever wounded by their actions and taxpayers who pay for the cost.
USA Today spoke to government officials as well as experts to discover how the debate been played out within the state of 19 in which capital punishment is used.
The final meal spotlights the conflicting feelings over death penalty
The exact origin of the ritual at the end of the meal from the United States has not been established, however certain researchers can trace the tradition back to ancient feasts for the final meal that were derived from the well-known Last Supper that Christians believe Jesus had with his apostles prior to his execution to Greece where those in death-row were fed prior to their execution in fears that they might return to the grave as ghosts hungry.
Within the U.S., experts say the last meal is a reflection of the nation’s ambivalence towards capital punishment along with a common concern about the end of life.
“We’re human beings and we all have fears of death. We’ll all have to have to confront,” Denno said, noting that most people don’t be able to predict when or how. “The possibility that your most recent meal is recorded in a manner that, for the vast most of us not the case interesting.”
The meal is also an acknowledgement of someone’s humanity prior to their death, Denno said, and an opportunity to alleviate the guilt of innocent bystanders.
Even the most extravagant dinners at the end are little when compared to the total cost of convicting and execution of the death penalty prisoner and the notion that taxpayer funds could be used for their enjoyment is “horrifying to even consider” for the people who suffer, Denno stated.
“There will be those who see the death penalty, and think that anything other than bread and water is just too to be appropriate for someone who might have killed somebody.”
Death row prisoners talk about their last meal prior to execution
In the days prior to their last breath, those on death row are often discussing the type of food they’ll want to eat for their last meal, according to Sarah Gerwig, a professor of law of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia who, as a post-conviction lawyer has been visiting prisoners who are in jail since. It was reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics discovered that executions in 2020 of prisoners who were in execution row on average for 19 years.
“The people and women who are locked up in prison long for a normal life and the memories of times that seemed more normal, when they had a craving for food and go to the store. This becomes a luxury and is a desire for luxury,” Gerwig told USA TODAY. “A majority of prisoners wanted final meals that been like the home-cooked meals they had as children or meals that were memorable for their lives or memorable in a meaningful way.”
Gerwig She wrote a paper in 2014 discussing special last meals following the time that Texas eliminated the practice, stated that prisoners are aware of the fact that their requests are reported in media reports, and certain prisoners use the occasion to “make an end-of-the-line announcement.”
Victor Feguer ordered a single olive that had the pit left to eat for his last meal, a symbol of peace in the world, The Telegraph Herald reported. Tennessee death row prisoner Donnie Edward Johnson declined a special meal prior to his execution in the year 2019, instead, he requested that his family and friends give meals to homeless.
“Having the ability to take part in an individual funeral’
The choice of a final meal could be a tradition that has been around for centuries but it’s not protected by federal law. right. The rules differ by state. Some have eliminated the custom, while some have instituted restrictions following the outcry of legislators.
South Dakota allows condemned inmates to “request an end-of-day meal using food items available to the facility’s the food services provider” explained Department of Corrections spokesperson Michael Winder.
Charles Rhines, executed in 2019 for the murder of Donnivan Schaeffer, demanded cantaloupe, fried chicken, as well as the Norwegian flaky lefsa made of flatbread cherry and strawberry yogurt and butter, black licorice and cookies, Ice cream, root beer and coffee with sugar and cream, Winder said.
Nevada is a state that restricts prisoners to the menu offered by the prison system however it doesn’t need to be the primary meal of the day according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson said.
“For your final meal, you are able to choose one of the options,” said spokesperson Teri Vance. “You are able to mix and mix and match.”
Daryl Mack, the last person executed in the state of Nevada, asked for the fish sandwich along with fries and a lemon-lime soda to be his last meal in the year 2006, as reported by the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The state of Wyoming, “at the discretion of the Warden, a condemned inmate could be allowed an end-of-day meal at the discretion of the inmate,” said Department of Corrections spokesperson Stephanie Kiger. However, they must select from “food products that are available to the general public via the catering department however following the prescribed menu or recommended portions are not mandatory.”
The time of the last meal holds symbolic meaning for a few.
Carey Dean Moore was the last executioner executed in Nebraska and the state of Nebraska, ordered Pizza Hut, cheesecake and soda, a request initially made in jest according to the Rev. Robert Bryan, who shared Moore’s final meal in the year 2018 after he became acquainted with Moore as his spiritual guide.
Moore received the cheesecake and pizza, and enjoyed the meal with eight family members and friends in the infirmary located in the penitentiary of state Lincoln the night prior to the execution, according to Moore, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America pastor.
“It was a moment of reverence however, it was not a teary-eyed moment,” Bryan said, noting that Moore demanded one person not cry.
“It was not the kind of meal that he would have liked,” the former prison minister told. “It was”Hey I’m eating with my buddies. It’s like being able to take part in the funeral of your own.”
A notorious murderer’s extravagant meal in Texas results in the abolition of
Texas is a state that has executed over one-third of executed executions within the U.S. since 1976 famously banned special last meals in the wake of then-state Senator. John Whitmire expressed his anger over a death row prisoner’s demand for.
Kristin Houle Cuellar, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Whitmire said she responded to what she “perceived as an extravagant dinner” ordered from Lawrence Brewer, who along with two others were found guilty of killing and torturing the 49-year-old handicapped Black male within Jasper County in 1998.
Brewer asked for his final meal:
- Two steaks fried in chicken with gravy and onions cut into slices
- A bacon cheeseburger that has triple-patty
- A cheese omelet made of ground beef onions, tomatoes bell peppers, jalapenos and bell peppers.
- An okra bowl that has been fried okra topped with the condiment ketchup.
- One pound of barbecued beef and half a loaf white bread
- Three Fajitas
- A meat lover’s pizza
- 1 pint Blue Bell Ice Cream
- A chunk of peanut butter Fudge containing crushed peanuts
- Three root beers
Shortly from his execution and amid an outcry that was growing, Texas abolished last meal requests in 2011.
Whitmire is now Houston’s mayor. of Houston was not available to answer USA TODAY’s inquiries for comments.
Fixed price menus
Florida allows prisoners 40 dollars for their final meal. The food has to be purchased locally. Oklahoma has an upper limit of 25-dollar limit.
Gilbert Postelle, executed in 2022 after shooting four people to death, ate the McDonald’s style meal, as per Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson Kay Thompson. The meal consisted of 20 chicken nuggets accompanied by Ranch BBQ and honey mustard dip sauces. Two large plates of fries topped with Ketchup and two chicken sandwiches, caramel frappes, as well as a huge cola.
The price of the meal in McDonalds in Oklahoma McDonalds in 2024 was around $27.
The Arizona Department of Corrections has released an list of the last meals requested from the forty prisoners they have executed since 1992.
Maryland eliminated capital punishment in the year 2013. The condemned before that were provided with regular meals in the prison kitchen, the former state prison spokesman said to USA TODAY.
“The idea was that those who had been found guilty of murder often involving multiple homicides, the government did not make a fuss to provide meals for special occasions,” said Leonard Sipes who currently manages an online site regarding law enforcement concerns.
A former public information director for the department of Public Safety department recalled John Thanos as a man who loved murdering. In the lead up the conviction in the year 1994 to be executed for an alleged murder streak, Sipes said Thanos stated to him “Hell I’d kill you If I had the chance.”
Family members who were among his victim’s families also favored not to have a fancy meal, Sipes said. Sipes recalled being asked “You’re not going to give the victim anything extravagant to eat, are you?”
Do you want to watch ‘The Lord of the Rings”?
Certain states have granted the prisoners they have condemned a lot of freedom and freedom of movement, not only for food but also for other requests that are unusual.
Utah provided Ronnie Lee Gardner, in 2010 the final person executed by the state the state executed, a bounty of food items and other requests in accordance with the Department of Corrections.
The meal was served two days prior to his execution date to “spend the final 48 hours of fasting, apart of a few drinks,” the document said. The spokesperson for the agency Karen Tapahe said moving the meal to the next day to allow fasting was likely an religious decision.
Gardner also spent the final day binge-watching”Lord of The Rings. “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
“In those last hours it’s not unusual to see them watching certain shows to give them a feeling of peace,” said Tapahe, in a remark to the prison personnel. “They’re quite friendly.”
