For a liberal democracy, America executes an alarmingly high number of its citizens and although 16 States don’t have the death penalty, in 2010 the remaining 34 still managed to dispatch 47 people and awarded over 100 the death sentence.
Texas tops the charts when it comes to executing its inmates: 17 people at the state’s behest in 2010. Which amounts to 17 last meals. Quite literally, the ultimate culinary experience, served up on a segmented plastic tray.
Prisons have never provided an a la carte menu when it comes to last meals. The prisoner would generally get an approximation in accordance with what was in the prison kitchen. You may request t-bone steak, but you may get a burger. Most of Texas’ condemned men ordered meals you would associate with their childhood, or, at least, happier times on the outside: simple fare such as fried chicken or barbecue ribs. Although one James Edwards Smith requested some dirt - which he planned to use in a Voodoo ritual. His request was denied because dirt was not on the approved list of prison foods and he had to settle for a yoghurt instead.
However, it has recently been decided in Texas to abolish the ritual last meal altogether on the twin grounds of cost and, more significantly, ethos.
The history of the last meal can be traced back to ancient democracies such as Greece or Rome and seems to be based on the notion of the State making peace with the prisoner before applying sentence. It has always been shot through with a large dose of myth such as that bedrock of the Christian faith, The Last Supper. So, are the governors of Texas trying to rewrite history or rewrite mythology?
Brian Price, a former inmate of Texas prisons and now a chef offered to provide all future last meals at his own expense. The state said thanks, but no thanks. Their viewpoint was put very succinctly by Senator John Whitemore, who referred to the tradition as “ridiculous and illogical.”
Interestingly, according to witnesses, most last meals remain uneaten. It would seem that the meal has mostly a symbolic rather than a nutritional value. Any state which elects to remove a prisoner’s life, but then opts to remove that prisoner’s final freedom to gaze upon a pork chop whilst contemplating their own mortality seems mean-spirited to say the least.
- Rogers, S. (2011) ‘Death penalty statistics from the US: which state executes the most people?’, The Guardian, 21 September [online]. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/Sep/21/death-penalty-statistics-us
- Graczyk, M. (2011) ‘Former last meal cook wants practice continued, Houston Chronicle, 26 September [online]. Available at: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Former-last-meal-cook-wants-practice-continued-2189425.php
- Nasaw, D. (2011) ‘Last Meal: What’s the point of this death row ritual?’, BBC News Magazine, Washington, 26 September [online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/magazine-15040658
- Conklin, RD. (2011) ‘Famous death row last meals’, Huffington Post, 17 June [online]. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/famous-last-meals_n_879020.htmls293776&title=Robert_Dale_Conklin
- Powell, C. (2011) ‘A Prisoner’s Final Meal And The Nature Of Our Democracy’, Emory Centre For Ethics, 6 October. Available at: emoryethics.blogspot.com/2011/10/prisoners-final-meal-and-nature-of-our.html
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