famous last meals

[Ken Gargett]

thought this might be off interest.

personally, i'd want to kick off with a bottle krug clos des mesnil followed by a great vintage Romanee-Conti (never tried the 45 so that would work) with a 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional to conclude.

for the meal itself, the Can Roca degustation would be perfect.

 

Seven Of The Weirdest Death Row Meals And Drinks Requests

If you knew a meal was going to be your last, what would you choose? It’s a difficult question that some people really have had to tackle after being sentenced to death. Here is our round-up of some of the strangest ever death row meal requests.

1. Peter Kürten

German serial killer and rapist Peter Kürten became known by the scary nickname of “the Vampire of Düsseldorf” due to the nature of his crimes. He was sentenced to death in April 1931, and requested Wiener schnitzel, fried potatoes and a bottle of white wine. He subsequently asked for seconds, which were given to him.

2. Victor Feguer 

Feguer was sentenced to death by hanging after luring a doctor to his home on the pretence that a woman there needed medical attention. He then shot the doctor in the head before dumping his body. His last meal request was a strange and minimalist one: a single olive with the pit left in.

3. Gary Carl Simmons, Jr.

A grocery butcher, Gary Carl Simmons, Jr. was sentenced to death by way of lethal injection for using his butcher’s knives to dismember a body before scattering the remains in an alligator-infested bayou. His death row meal in 2012 is a famous and huge one comprising: a Pizza Hut medium Super Supreme Deep Dish pizza with double portions of mushrooms, onions, jalapeño peppers, and pepperoni; another pizza with three cheeses, olives, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, and Italian sausage; 10 8-oz. packs of Parmesan cheese; 10 8-oz. packs of ranch dressing; a family size bag of Doritos nacho cheese flavour; 8-oz. jalapeño nacho cheese; 4-oz. sliced jalapeños; Two large strawberry shakes; Two 20-oz. cherry cokes; a super-size order of McDonald’s fries with extra ketchup and mayonnaise and two pints of strawberry ice cream.

4. Thomas J Grasso

Thomas J Grasso was executed in 1995 after he strangled an 85-year-old woman to death using Christmas tree lights. His last meal request was also a sizeable one: two dozen steamed mussels; two dozen steamed clams; a double cheeseburger from Burger King; six barbecue spare ribs; two milkshakes; a tin of SpaghettiOs with meatballs; half a pumpkin pie and strawberries and cream. His long, complicated order confused kitchen staff, who inadvertently gave him spaghetti rather than SpaghettiOs. His last words were reportedly, “I did not get my SpaghettiOs, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”

5. Gary Gilmore

In 1976, Gilmore robbed and murdered two men at a gas station in Utah. While disposing of the murder weapon, Gilmore inadvertently shot his own right hand – leaving a trail of blood back to the service garage where he had left his truck to be repaired. He was sentenced to death by firing squad after reportedly demanding his own execution. His death row meal request was: one hamburger; hard-boiled eggs; one baked potato;  several cups of coffee and three shots of contraband, Jack Daniel’s whiskey.

6. Allen Lee Davis

Ironically known as ‘Tiny’, Allen Lee Davis was executed in 1999 after the murder of a pregnant woman, Nancy Weiler. His last meal comprised one lobster tail; fried potatoes;  half-a-pound of fried shrimp; six oz of fried clams; half a loaf of garlic bread and 32 ounces of A&W root beer.

7. Ted Bundy

One of the most infamous serial killers of modern times, Ted Bundy confessed to 30 homicides committed between 1974 and 1978, although the true number of victims is not know. Bundy declined a last meal and so was given the standard fare for death row inmates: a steak cooked medium rare; eggs over easy; hash browns; toast; coffee; milk; juice; butter and jelly.

Credit: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

[Huckleberry]

What...no Chianti and fava beans??

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, Huckleberry said:

What...no Chianti and fava beans??

that wasn't hannibal's last meal. just the last meal his guest attended. 

and i still can't believe that the producers insisted that it be chianti instead of amarone, like the book. because they thought audiences would not get amarone. shame! 

[Huckleberry]

I was failing at funny  

I absolutely agree with you on the choice of wine Ken.  When I was a drinker I was a huge fan of Amarone and Chianti just fails miserably in comparison in my book.

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, Huckleberry said:

I was failing at funny  

I absolutely agree with you on the choice of wine Ken.  When I was a drinker I was a huge fan of Amarone and Chianti just fails miserably in comparison in my book.

apols. rushing around and didn't think. not for the first time. 

[triphitter]

Ted Bundy’s rejected last meal/standard fare seems close to something I’d request.

Throw in a couple glasses of Rioja and a bottle of Pol Roger.

[Jimmy_jack]

I’d be curious to know if fulll autopsies are down after executions. If so, I’d guess those really big last meals were an F-U to the pathologist.

[Fezztone]

Clearly Gary Carl Simmons, Jr. was acting out for all the years he had to maintain his figure for the other inmates.

[mprach024]

Happy Morbid Monday!  

[Bijan]

I assume from a food perspective death row is by far the best venue in most prisons.

Makes me wonder what to choose between the death penalty and life without parole 🤔

Don't think we have either in Canada... Guess it's a moot point 

[Fuzz]

Texan death row inmates can thank Lawrence Russell Brewer for no longer being able to request their special last meal.

Brewer's requested last meal consisted of; two chicken fried steaks smothered in gravy with sliced onions; a triple meat bacon cheeseburger with fixings on the side; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecue with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas with fixings; a Meat Lovers pizza; three root beers; one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream; and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. Brewer's request was granted, but he refused the meal when it arrived saying that he was simply not hungry, prompting Texas to stop granting last meal requests to condemned inmates

[Walter19]

I couldn't imagine id have an appetite. Wonder how long after their meals are they executed?

[Bijan]

16 minutes ago, Walter19 said:

I couldn't imagine id have an appetite. Wonder how long after their meals are they executed?

Wikipedia says it's generally a day or two before the execution:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_meal#Contemporary_restrictions_in_the_United_States

[Chibearsv]

I guess I've never really pondered the idea of a last meal other than to know it was a thing.  Reading other posts about the tradition and quality of food, etc made me ponder a little more.  Now, after a little more thought, who cares if a murderous a-hole gets a nice meal or not before he rides the lightning?  I'm not necessarily for the death penalty but I'm certainly NOT for granting last wishes to inhuman trash.  

FYI, I know the @Ken Gargett is not promoting anything but a general comment on his idea of a last meal (which sounds delicious by the way).

[Bijan]

5 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

I guess I've never really pondered the idea of a last meal other than to know it was a thing.  Reading other posts about the tradition and quality of food, etc made me ponder a little more.  Now, after a little more thought, who cares if a murderous a-hole gets a nice meal or not before he rides the lightning?  I'm not necessarily for the death penalty but I'm certainly NOT for granting last wishes to inhuman trash.  

I can definitely see that point about the worst offenders or the average death row offender. Maybe that's the way it is most of the time.

But I feel there's got to be innocent people who wind up on the wrong side of things from time to time. Or at least people who aren't inhuman trash.

I think I read the tradition comes from medieval Europe where it was thought to appease the ghost of the soon to be dead. In any case it's a tradition and a small act of mercy to the condemned.

[SpecialK]

I remember in Middle school one of our field trips was to the correctional facility in Columbia SC.. We only got to tour the Death row area but no inmate interaction of course. We got to see the electric chair "old sparky" and the room where the magic happened.. They also pointed out a table on the side that was the "cooling" table to be used after the act...  

Funny what random topics can bring back into the frontal cortex... 

[Chibearsv]

42 minutes ago, Bijan said:

I can definitely see that point about the worst offenders or the average death row offender. Maybe that's the way it is most of the time.

But I feel there's got to be innocent people who wind up on the wrong side of things from time to time. Or at least people who aren't inhuman trash.

I think I read the tradition comes from medieval Europe where it was thought to appease the ghost of the soon to be dead. In any case it's a tradition and a small act of mercy to the condemned.

I appreciate that you've got compassion and an understanding of the potential pitfalls of the death penalty as a policy regarding wrongfully convicted people.  But putting the debate of pro or anti death penalty aside, the notion of granting any wish to someone that's been convicted of the worst crimes is ridiculous to me.

[Bijan]

1 minute ago, Chibearsv said:

I appreciate that you've got compassion and an understanding of the potential pitfalls of the death penalty as a policy regarding wrongfully convicted people.  But putting the debate of pro or anti death penalty aside, the notion of granting any wish to someone that's been convicted of the worst crimes is ridiculous to me.

Again it probably comes from medieval times when I think it was a real crapshoot if they got the right person most of the time. It was more of a mob must be appeased situation.

On the other hand mercy and compassion for sinners and reprobates is kind of a basic Christian ideal, in this case more so since Christ himself was wrongfully crucified/executed. Without getting too far into religion or US politics...

[Chibearsv]

1 minute ago, Bijan said:

Again it probably comes from medieval times when I think it was a real crapshoot if they got the right person most of the time. It was more of a mob must be appeased situation.

On the other hand mercy and compassion for sinners and reprobates is kind of a basic Christian ideal, in this case more so since Christ himself was wrongfully crucified/executed. Without getting too far into religion or US politics...

I'll steer clear of the dangerous waters ahead.  I understand your point of view. 

[Corylax18]

8 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

I appreciate that you've got compassion and an understanding of the potential pitfalls of the death penalty as a policy regarding wrongfully convicted people.  But putting the debate of pro or anti death penalty aside, the notion of granting any wish to someone that's been convicted of the worst crimes is ridiculous to me.

 

4 minutes ago, Bijan said:

Again it probably comes from medieval times when I think it was a real crapshoot if they got the right person most of the time. It was more of a mob must be appeased situation.

On the other hand mercy and compassion for sinners and reprobates is kind of a basic Christian ideal, in this case more so since Christ himself was wrongfully crucified/executed. Without getting too far into religion or US politics...

I get both points, but we have an odd relationship with jailing, the death penalty, etc. in the U.S.

The Florence Administrative Maximum Security Prison is where we keep all of the second worse people we have in our prison system. Its essentially the last stop before Gitmo. Alcatraz of the Rockies. Its mostly domestic terrorists like the Boston Marathon Bomber and the shoe bomber, but there are a few "old fashion" murderers and a bunch of guys who didn't fit in regular maximum security prisons. 

23 hours a day in your cell, 1 hour a day in a slightly larger cell for "exercise". No human interaction, no view of the outside world, no mail in/out. Its torture. 

We'll keep a guy there for 3-5 years while his death penalty appeals run their course, then fly him to Terre Haute and feed him a nice big meal before the lethal injection. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence