Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals from Death Row - Softcover

Treadwell, Ty; Vernon, Michelle

3.57

206 ratings by Goodreads

9781559502177: Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals from Death Row

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559502177 ISBN 13: 9781559502177

Publisher: Loompanics Unltd, 2001

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A murderer from Texas ordered twenty-four tacos for his last meal---and that was just the appetizer! A Maryland man wanted nothing but a cup of coffee prior to his lethal injection, while a killer from Oklahoma requested SpaghettiOs and was enraged when he didn't get them!

Does a condemned man's last meal somehow shed light on his inner psyche? Like a mystic reading tea leaves, do we hope to discover the reasoning behind a mad killer's crimes by examining the gravy smears on his plate? Regardless of the reasons, the last meals of executed criminals have long provided food for thought, and Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals from Death Row adds an unusual---and sometimes comical---twist to the controversial capital punishment debate.

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From the Inside Flap:

How's this for a last meal: 24 tacos, 2 cheeseburgers, 2 whole onions, 5 jalapeno peppers, 6 enchiladas, 6 tostadas, one quart of milk and one chocolate milkshake? That's what David Castillo, convicted murderer, packed in the night before Texas shot him up with a lethal injection. Or how about this: A dozen steamed mussels, a Burger King double cheeseburger with mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato, a can of Franco-American spaghetti with meatballs, a mango, half of a pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and a strawberry milkshake -- all that went down the hatch of killer Thomas Grasso on the eve of Oklahoma's giving him the needle.

The United States remains one of the few "civilized" nations to utilize capital punishment as a crime-fighting tool. Execution rituals have always varied slightly from state to state, not only in the method of death but also in the care and treatment of the accused during his final hours. One ritual that remains constant throughout all 38 states which have the death penalty is the act of feeding the condemned man a special last meal before the execution. The quantity and quality of the food available to the inmate does vary, but each man or woman is always allowed to partake of one final feast before they shake hands with the Grim Reaper.

The ritual seems to be important not only to the inmate and to prison officials, but to the general public as well. Almost every newspaper article documenting an execution lists the condemned man's last meal alongside his last words and the other details of the execution, making one wonder why this tidbit of information is so greedily sought after. Regardless of the reasons, it can truly be said that criminals aren't the only ones with an appetite for "last suppers." So dig in and enjoy!

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