Last meal
 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (April 2025) |
A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be.
Contemporary restrictions in the United States
[edit]Contrary to the common belief that all last meal requests, regardless of their complexity, must be fulfilled, various restrictions are in place over what can be requested.[1][2]
In the United States, most states give the meal a day or two before the actual execution and now use the euphemism "special meal". Alcohol and tobacco are usually, but not always, denied. Unorthodox or unavailable requests are replaced with similar substitutes. Some states place tight restrictions. Sometimes, a prisoner asks to share the last meal with another inmate (as Francis Crowley did with John Resko in 1932) or has the meal distributed among other inmates (as requested by Raymond Fernandez in 1951).[3]
In Florida, the food for the last meal must be purchased locally and the cost is limited to $40.[4] In Oklahoma, the cost is limited to $25. In Louisiana, the prison warden traditionally joins the condemned prisoner for the last meal. On one occasion, the warden paid for an inmate's lobster dinner.[5]
In Texas, the tradition of customized last meals is thought to have been established around 1924.[6] However, in September 2011, the state of Texas abolished all special meal requests after condemned prisoner Lawrence Brewer requested a large and expensive meal, but did not eat any of it, stating that he was not hungry.[5] Since then, the prisoner's last meal is the prison meal that is being served in the Huntsville Unit cafeteria on the day of execution.[7]
Documented last meal requests
[edit]See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Mikkelson, David (30 October 2014). "Death Row Inmate Asks for a Child As His Last Meal, Texas DOC Plan to Grant Request?". Snopes. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Beam, Christopher (10 November 2009). "I'll Have 24 Tacos and the Filet Mignon". Slate. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ The Book of Lists #3. Bantam. 1983. pp. 85–87. ISBN 978-0-553-27868-2.
- ^ "Death Row Fact Sheet". Florida Department of Corrections. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ a b Turner, Allan (23 September 2011). "Last-meal requests come to an end on Texas death row". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ "Last-meal requests off death row menu". San Antonio Express-News. 22 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ "Death Row the Final 24 Hours Documentary & Discovery HD Channel Official". YouTube. 24 April 2015.
Further reading
[edit]- Treadwell, Ty and Vernon, Michelle (2011) Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals from Death Row
- Van Dülmen, Richard (1990). Theatre of Horror : Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Germany. Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-7456-0616-3.
- Foucault, Michel (1977). Discipline & Punish : The Birth of the Prison. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 978-0-679-75255-4.
- Von Hentig, Hans (1973). Punishment – Its Origin, Purpose, and Psychology. Patterson Smith. ISBN 978-0-87585-147-1.
- Osler, Mark (February 2009). "Ch. 7: Last Meal / Last Supper". Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. pp. 63–67. ISBN 978-0-687-64756-9.
- Jones, Michael Owen (2014). "Dining on Death Row: Last Meals and the Crutch of Ritual". The Journal of American Folklore. 127 (503): 3–26. doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.127.503.0003. JSTOR 10.5406/jamerfolk.127.503.0003. S2CID 144164543.
External links
[edit]- Greene, Bob (12 June 2001). They didn't get to choose their last meals. Jewish World Review. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- Karon, Tony (10 August 2000). Why We're Fascinated by Death Row Cuisine. TIME Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- Stein, Joel (18 October 2007). You Eat What You Are. TIME Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- Famous Last Meals. Portraits of Last Requests. Retrieved on 2010-09-17.
- Final Meal Requests. Texas Department of Criminal Justice (12 September 2003). Archived from the original on 2003-12-02. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- Last Meals Archived 12 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. rotten dot com. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- Last Meals: What Would You Order? Seattle Weekly (18 June 2010). Retrieved on 2010-06-24.
- Last Meals on Death Row (since 2002). Dead Man Eating. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- Top 10 Death Row Last Meal Requests from Texas Archived 17 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Zombie Popcorn (9 October 2008) Retrieved on 2010-09-29.