Boy, it sure is quiet around here with everyone at the annual. For those of us left...

TDCJ has opted to end the practice of offering a prisoner his choice of a last meal before his execution. This after Lawrence Brewer ordered a last meal consisting of "a triple meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet, two chicken fried steaks, a large bowl of fried okra, three fajitas, a pound of barbecue with a half loaf of white bread and a pint of Blue Bell ice cream."

The rest of the article

I don't think that they need to abolish it altogether. Seems like they could put a money and availability limit on it though to make it reasonable. The tradition goes back several thousand years. I know the victims did not get a last meal, but I think it shows our humanity and really does no harm.

Dr. Monte Miller
mmiller@forensicdnaexperts.com
www.forensicdnaexperts.com

They will get a last meal, just not a fancy one.

I think our humanity is already revealed in regularly feeding them, availability of snacks from the commissary, medically looking after them, providing spiritual counsel, allowing worship and adoration from around the world toward them, etc. Not to mention the not-so-occasional cellphone conversations, marijuana breaks, frustration-venting by stabbing guards.

Last Meal by Asleep at the Wheel

Well I was layin in my cell on death row
When I heard the warden say
He said Ray you got one more day.
You got one last meal before we carry you away.
He said if we aint got it, we're gonna have to send out and get it
And you dont have to go, you dont have to go
Until we get back with it
Everything!
So I turned to the warden and then I said,
Warden bring me two dinosaur eggs over easy
Fried in butter, and not too greasy,
Mosquito knees and black eyed peas.
A little bit of butter on my bee bop beans, a saber tooth tiger steak
A whole hippopotamus well baked
So go and get my dinner, go, and get my dinner
You aint got it, go out and get it
Cause I aint goin till you get back with it

Now bring me a cup of crocodile tears,
I want a purple watermelon and some alligator ears
Two cross-eyed catfish and a female banana I sure can't resist
Now bring me an order of those fried moonbeams
A barbequed brick of chocolate ice cream

So go and get my dinner, go, and get my dinner
You aint got it, go out and get it
Cause I aint goin till you get back with it
Now go, and get my dinner, go
And get my dinner, go
And get my dinner, go
And get my dinner
You aint got it, got to go out and get it
Cause I aint goin till you get back with it

(take your time)

[This message was edited by Roy DeFriend on 09-26-11 at .]

Never saw the point in it anyway. Who wants to eat when you're about to get killed?

But that aside, I've been watching this progression for awhile. I think an extra helping of whatever everyone else is having that day ought to be fine.

Maybe, if inmates want a broader variety of foods available to them, we should go back to the time-honored way of keeping them busy and teaching them useful skills: make them grow their own food.

[This message was edited by David H on 09-26-11 at .]

Hell, a dude is gonna die.

Yes, he is an absolute reprobate (limiting, with unusual tact, what I want to call him) who will be dispatched to the glory of the Lord in due course. But......

It's an ancient tradition. Something doesn't sit right with me that the tradition is abolished because it was abused by one puke.

It's expensive, but the expense will be the last. How much was this last guy's meal worth? A couple of hundred dollars? And how much have we paid State and defense counsel, expert witnesses, etc., etc., etc.? How much have we paid to keep him safe on death row (when he may have been shanked in gen pop)? The last meal expense, in light of what we have spent, seems kind of a small amount.

What about the next condemned who just wants a box of twinkies? Is that too much to ask?

Why not just come up with a sensible menu to choose from?

Trust me, I am not light on the condemned. I still believe that executions should be public, so that all can see where certain crimes lead. That a death may be a bit painful (as in electrocution, the gas chamber, or hanging)is of little concern, in light of what the condemned is being put to death for. I like the guillotine. Quick and efficient. Makes a point. Does the head survive 20 seconds or so? Who cares?

But let the guy have a steak.....what the hell.......

Don't they know that's bad for them?

"In a recent study, [researchers] examined food choices among people facing execution as a window for understanding more about one of the most extreme circumstances when a person faces near-certain death in the immediate future."

Or, "Why fried chicken is such a popular last meal on death row."

http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/row.html

Next up, "Why are there no vegans on death row?"

Or, "Does red meat make you want to kill?"

Wasn't Hitler vegan? Oh, he never made it to death row.

I think his last meal was on the order of a lead base. Perhaps with some copper in the mix.

Exit only.