Whether people are for or against the death penalty is immaterial when it comes to one other issue: Many have considered what they would want for their very last meal on earth.
Food photographer Henry Hargreaves has never agreed with capital punishment. Yet when Texas purged the “last meal” tradition in 2011, Hargreaves recreated and staged the last meal requests of some death row inmates in his “No Seconds” and “A Year of Killing” series.
As Hargreaves himself said on the topic, “I couldn’t stomach any food if i knew I was going to die, but if I was a famous rock star I’d want Miller High Life beer, oatmeal and raisin cookies and fresh fruit plate.”
Scroll down to understand exactly what “eating like you’re going to the chair” means.
Allen Lee ‘Tiny’ Davis, 54
Davis was charged in Florida with robbery and three counts of murder and sentenced to the electric chair in 1999. For his last meal he had lobster tail, fried potatoes, ½ pound fried shrimp, six ounces fried clams and ½ loaf garlic bread.
Brandon Jones, 72
Jones was charged in Georgia for murder and was sentenced to lethal injection in 2016. Jones refused to choose a final meal, so instead he had the standard meal of chicken and rice, rutabagas, seasoned turnip greens, dry white beans, bread pudding, and fruit punch.
Christopher Brooks, 43
Brooks was charged for rape and murder by the state of Alabama. He was sentenced to lethal injection in 2016 and requested two peanut butter cups and a Dr. Pepper for his last meal.
John Wayne Gacy, 53
The infamous serial killer was charged by the state of Illinois for rape and 33 counts of murder. Gacy was sentenced to lethal injection in 1994. Having managed a few KFC restaurants he requested to have 12 fried shrimp, a bucket of KFC’s original recipe, french fries, and one pound of strawberries as his death row meal.
Oscar Ray Bolin Jr., 53
The state of Florida charged Bolin for three counts of murder and sentenced him to death by lethal injection in 2016. For his last meal he had rib-eye steak, a baked potato with butter and sour cream; a salad made of iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato; baked garlic bread; lemon meringue pie; and a bottle of Coca-Cola.
Ricky Ray Rector, 42
Rector was charged by the state of Arkansas with two counts of murder and sentenced to lethal injection in 1992. For his final meal he ate steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid and pecan pie.
Ronnie Lee Gardner, 49
The state of Utah charged Gardner with burglary, robbery and two counts of murder. He was sentenced to death by firing squad in 2010 and requested to have a lobster tail, steak, apple pie, vanilla ice cream —while watching “Lord of The Rings.”
Ronnie Threadgill, 40
Charged by the state of Texas for murder, Threadgill was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 2013. Since Texas had gotten rid of the “last meal” in 2011, he was given the same meal as everyone else in his unit. The meal consisted of baked chicken, mashed potatoes with country gravy, vegetables, bread, tea, water, and punch.
Stephen Anderson, 48
Anderson was charged by the state of California for burglary, assault, escaping prison and seven counts of murder. He was sentenced to lethal injection in 2002. For his last meal he chose to have two grilled cheese sandwiches, a pint of cottage cheese, hominy/corn mixture, radishes, peach pie, and chocolate chip ice cream.
Steven Frederick Spears, 54
Steven Frederick Spears was charged for murder by the state of Georgia. He was sentenced to lethal injection in 2016 and requested a large meat pizza for his final few bites.
Ted Bundy, 43
Once he was finally caught, Ted Bundy was charged by the state of Florida for rape, necrophilia, escaping prison and 30 plus counts of murder. He was sentenced to the electric chair in 1989. Bundy declined a special meal; he was given the “traditional last meal” which consisted of steak, eggs, hash browns, toast and jelly, milk, and juice.
Timothy McVeigh, 33
After being charged with 168 counts of murder in the state of Illinois, Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 2001. For his final meal he requested two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Victor Freguer, 28
Freguer was charged for kidnapping and murder by the state of Iowa for kidnapping and murder. He was sentenced to lethal injection in 1963. For his final meal ever he chose to have on olive with the pit in it.
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