Strangest last meals
remembered: Ninety
years after the gas
chamber was first
used on death row
We mark the grizzly anniversary by looking back at some of the strangest food requests ordered by inmates ahead of their executions
Today is the 90th anniversary of the first use of the gas chamber to execute a prisoner on death row.
An unsuccessful attempt to kill convict Gee Jon by pumping gas directly into his cell led to the use of a specially built gas chamber to finally carry out the sentence on February 8th 1924.
The last person to be executed in the gas chamber in the US is Walter LaGrand - a German national - who was executed in Arizona on March 3, 1999.
Six states, Arizona, California, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri and Wyoming, authorize the use of lethal gas under certain circumstances.
Whatever the means of execution, a condemned inmate is usually able to request a last meal of their choice.
This meal is supposed to symbolise the condemned making peace with those responsible for their death. We look back at some of the extraordinary culinary requests made by inmates.
In 2011 inmate Lawrence Russell Brewer ordered an enormous meal that included two fried chicken steaks with gravy and sliced onions, a triple bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelette (with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños), fried okra, a pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread, three fajitas, a pizza (topped with pepperoni, ham, beef, bacon and sausage).
On top of that he wanted a pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream, a slab of peanut butter fudge and three root beers – none of which he consumed.
Similar hints of defiance of convicts set to be executed are also evident in a series of “special meals” recreated by photographer Henry Hargreaves.
Snapped from the point of view of the prisoner, the images illustrate the final moments of those sentenced to death in a manner far more vivid than words that can read like a shopping list.
The sight of a singly unpitted olive – believed to be a symbol of rebirth ? placed on a large ceramic plate and set with cutlery is stark and mildly absurd.
Ordered by Victor Feguer before his execution in 1963, he is reported to have been buried with the stone placed in his pocket.
And similar to Brewer’s handling of his untouched gargantuan feast, the images illustrate other meals that were refused by death row inmates.
Murderer and armed robber Angel Nieves Diaz declined to break bread before going to his death – but was served a regular prison meal, which he also refused.
Notorious serial killer, rapist, kidnapper and necrophile Ted Bundy – who talked of suicide on the eve of his execution ? also didn’t seem to have much of an appetite ahead of taking a seat in the electric chair. He was still served a ‘traditional’ meal of steak, eggs, hash browns and toast.
And in a grisly final gag, murderer Ricky Ray Rector declared to a guard he was saving his pecan pie pudding for later after polishing off steak, fried chicken and Cherry Kool-Aid.
Afters were a priority for serial killer Timothy McVeigh too. The Oklahoma City bomber skipped mains in favour of two pints of mint and chocolate chip ice cream before he was executed by lethal injection.
John Wayne Gacy – responsible for the sexual assaults and murders of at least 33 teenage boys and young men ? was even more gluttonous. Having been a KFC restaurant manager, the final order made by the “Killer Clown” included a bucket of the fast food chicken and a pound of strawberries.
And in an act that would no doubt irk those that believe the last meal is a luxury that should not be afforded, Ronnie Lee Gardner was permitted to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy as he fasted for 48 hours after his final supper.
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