A couple weeks ago, inmate Lawrence Russell Brewer, serving in a Texas prison, was served his last meal before his execution. He ordered an obscene amount of food including — but not limited to — a triple bacon cheeseburger, fajitas, chicken-fried steaks, an omelette, and a pint of vanilla ice cream. And he didn’t eat a single bite.
Sen. John Whitmire (D) was so angry he immediately asked the state prison agency to halt the tradition of a last meal before an execution. Whitmire said that if the practice wasn’t stopped, he would get the help of the State Legislature to pass a bill to stop the procedure. The executive director for the agency responded a little while later saying that the tradition was halted and went into effect immediately. Inmates on death row will now eat the meal served to every other prisoner for their last meal.
Some people agree with Whitmire, saying that a perpetrator does not deserve a last meal when one wasn’t provided to his or her victim. Others, like former inmate and prison chef, Brian Price, think the tradition should continue. Price even offered to pay for and prepare the last meals for inmates on death row.
However, Whitmire said it wasn’t the money that was the problem. He felt that inmates take advantage of the process, sometimes even making a mockery out of it. But are inmates in fact having the last laugh at the state’s expense, or is it the very last thing in life they are able to control before being executed?
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