Just like other people, I have definitely pondered what I would want for my last meal before I was to be executed, and it would be the lemongrass tofu lunch special from my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
However, this query isn’t just a silly game for many death row inmates and their meal most likely wouldn’t consist of a specialty Asian dish. Prisoners have made all kinds of requests over the years, ranging from simple to extravagant to downright odd.
The fascination with this morbid tradition has been chronicled in various forms, such as artwork, books, and countless news outlets, and I don’t imagine it slowing down any time soon.
History of the Last Meal
The tradition of serving a condemned prisoner a last meal dates back to ancient Greek civilization. "In Ancient Greece, you had to feed the person who was going to be executed so that they could cross the River Styx into the underworld and not come back as a hungry ghost," according to a paper written by Sarah Gerwig-Moore at the Mercer University School of Law.
The tradition spread to Rome, where gladiators, who were most certainly facing imminent death in the coliseum, would enjoy a final feast. This ancient tradition has developed many forms of "last meal" requests. Within the American prison system, many say that granting a death row inmate their last meal is a way to reintroduce humanity into an otherwise inhumane scenario.
States Rules and Restrictions Around Last Meal Requests
Regardless of what people might believe, just because a prisoner makes a request doesn't mean their wishes will be fulfilled. Most states have stipulations about what meals will be given, and if you're unfortunate to find yourself on death row in Texas, you won't even be granted a last meal. The state did away with the tradition back in 2011.
No alcohol or tobacco is supplied to inmates in their final days, and the meal will usually consist of what the prison kitchen can create from its inventory within a specified budget. If a filet mignon is ordered, the prisoner might instead receive a hamburger. However, there have been cases where prisoners did receive their actual last wish.
Lawrence Russell Brewer
Texas got rid of a prisoner's last meal request because of Lawrence Russell Brewer. Brewer, convicted of the dragging death of James Byrd Jr in Jasper, Texas, made an elaborate final meal request, and the state granted it.
When the meal of two chicken fried steaks with gravy, one triple meat bacon cheeseburger with all the fixings, a southwestern omelet, fried okra, a pound of BBQ with a half loaf of white bread, three fajitas with the fixings, one Pizza Hut meat lovers pizza, three root beers, a pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts arrived, Brewer refused to eat any of it.
John Wayne Gacy
The notorious "Killer Clown," John Wayne Gacy, was put to death by lethal injection by the state of Illinois at the age of 52. His final meal request consisted of twelve fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, french fries, and a pound of fresh strawberries.
Perhaps his love of the finger-lickin' good KFC chicken comes from his days managing three stores owned by his father-in-law.
Darryl Barwick
Florida man Darryl Barwick was convicted of killing 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt when he was only 19 years old in 1986. Before his execution in May 2023, Barwick ate his requested meal of fried chicken, mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, white rice, and cornbread. He washed it down with a Coca-Cola and had ice cream for dessert.
Robert Dale Conklin
Perhaps the most expensive and outlandish last meal requests ever made came from convicted killer Robert Dale Conklin. In 2005, Conklin received and consumed the meal while waiting for execution for the death of his lover.
It was reported that the prisoner ate every last morsel of filet mignon wrapped with bacon, de-veined shrimp sautéed in garlic butter with lemon, baked potato with all of the fixings, corn on the cob, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, French bread with butter, goat cheese, cantaloupe, apple pie, vanilla bean ice cream, and unsweet iced tea. I guess he was counting calories and didn't want the extra sugar that sweet tea has.
Ronnie Threadgill
Although Texas had done away with last meals for death row inmates in 2011, that didn't stop Ronnie Threadgill from making his final request two years later. Threadgill, convicted of murder in 2002, ordered baked chicken, mashed potatoes with country gravy, vegetables, sweet peas, bread, tea, water, and punch.
However, the state ignored his request, and Threadgill received the same meal as all of the other prisoners before his execution.
Aileen Carol Wuornos
Honestly, I wasn't surprised when I learned of Aileen Carol Wuornos's last meal request. The rare female serial killer was found guilty of murdering six men and spent a decade on Florida's death row. When asked what she wanted as her last meal before being executed by lethal injection, Wuornos requested a cup of black coffee.
Her meal might have been simple, but she was more verbose with her final words, "I'd just like to say, I'm sailing with the rock, and I'll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus, June 6th. Like the movie Big Mothership and all. I'll be back."
Ricky Ray Rector
In 1992, Ricky Ray Rector was put to death for the murder of an Arkansas police officer. He shot the officer in the back, and in what many believe was an attempt to take his own life, Rector shot himself in the head immediately following the cop's death. However, he survived but was severely mentally incapacitated.
For his last meal, Rector ordered steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid, and a slice of pecan pie. He did not eat the pie, telling the corrections officer he was "saving it for later." In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of people with intellectual disabilities in Atkins v. Virginia, ruling that the practice constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Rector leaving the pie for later was a stark reminder that he might not have understood the magnitude of what was about to occur.
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy, at the age of 43, was put to death by an electric chair in Florida. One of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history was sentenced to death for 35 counts of murder, necrophilia, rape, and prison escape.
Bundy declined a special request for his last meal and was instead given the traditional last meal offered at that time, which consisted of a steak cooked medium-rare, eggs over easy, hash browns, toast with butter and jelly, milk, and juice.
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh, who planned and carried out the horrific terror attack in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people, was executed in Indiana by lethal injection at the age of 33. Before his execution, his last meal request was simply two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
His final meal might have been straightforward, but his last words were anything but. McVeigh chose the poem Invictus, which means "unconquerable" in Latin, to be read before taking his last breath.
Karla Faye Tucker
Karla Faye Tucker spent 15 years on Texas's death row for the murders of a male acquaintance and his female companion, who was in his apartment at the time of the crime. She never denied committing the murders and had made peace with the inevitable outcome through her conversion to Christianity while behind bars.
Before her death by lethal injection in 1998, Tucker made the very simple yet healthy request for a banana, a peach, and a garden salad with Ranch dressing.
Joseph Mitchell Parsons
In 1987, Joseph Parsons caught a ride with Richard Ernest, brutally stabbed him to death, and then assumed his identity. He was convicted and sentenced to Utah's death row. He chose his last meal of three Burger King whoppers, two orders of french fries, a chocolate shake and chocolate ice cream, and a package of grape Hubba Bubba bubble gum.
At the time, his lawyer said Parsons chose a Burger King meal because of the company's slogan, 'Have it your way,' which he believed symbolized Parsons taking control of his own life.
Tell Us What You Think