Famous last meal requests
(I put an asterisk next to serial killers, not including mass murderers, who are a different creature entirely. I'd love to hear from readers who catch any mistakes I make; additionally, I am indebted to Wikipedia for this info; explanations of the footnotes can be found there.)
(I put an asterisk next to serial killers, not including mass murderers, who are a different creature entirely. I'd love to hear from readers who catch any mistakes I make; additionally, I am indebted to Wikipedia for this info; explanations of the footnotes can be found there.)
This represents the items reported requested but does not, in all cases, represent what the prisoner actually received.
Adolf Eichmann declined a special meal, preferring a bottle of Carmel, a dry red Israeli wine. He drank about half of it.[3]
*Aileen Wuornos declined a special meal, but had a hamburger and other snack food from the prison's canteen. Later, she drank a cup of coffee.[4]
Allen Lee Davis—350-pound "Tiny" Davis had one lobster tail, fried potatoes, a half-pound of fried shrimp, six ounces of fried clams, half a loaf of garlic bread, and 32 ounces of A&W root beer.[5]
Ángel Nieves Díaz declined a special meal. He was served the regular prison meal for that day, but declined that as well.[6]
Bruno Richard Hauptmann: Celery, olives, chicken, French fries, buttered peas, cherries, and a slice of cake.[3]
Clarence Ray Allen: Buffalo steak, frybread (both of which are traditional Native American dishes), a bucket of KFC white-meat-only chicken, sugar-free pecan pie, sugar-free walnut ice cream and whole milk.[citation needed]
Dennis Wayne Bagwell: Medium rare steak with A1 Steak Sauce, fried chicken breasts and thighs, BBQ ribs, French fries, onion rings, bacon, scrambled eggs with onions, fried potatoes with onions, sliced tomatoes, salad with ranch dressing, two hamburgers, peach pie, milk, coffee, and iced tea with real sugar.[7]
Desmond Keith Carter declined a special meal, but had two cheeseburgers, a steak sub, and two Cokes from the prison canteen, for which he paid $4.20 from his prison account.[4]
Dobie Gillis Williams: Twelve candy bars and some ice cream.[8]
Edward Hartman: A Greek salad, linguini with white clam sauce, cheese cake with cherry topping, garlic bread, and a Coke.[9]
*Gary Gilmore: A hamburger, hard-boiled eggs, a baked potato, a few cups of coffee, and three shots of whiskey.[3][10][11]
Gary M. Heidnik had two slices of a cheese pizza and two cups of black coffee.[12]
Henry Martinez Porter: Flour tortillas, T-bone steak, refried beans, tossed salad, jalapeño peppers, ice cream, and chocolate cake.[13]
James Edward Smith requested a lump of dirt, which was denied. He settled for a small cup of yogurt.[14]
John Allen Muhammad: Chicken with red sauce and several strawberry cakes.
*John Wayne Gacy: A dozen deep-fried shrimps, a bucket of original recipe chicken from KFC, French fries, and a pound of strawberries.[10]
Karl Eugene Chamberlain: A variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, lunch meat, deviled eggs, six fried cheese-stuffed jalapeños, a chef salad with ranch dressing, onion rings, french fries, a cheeseburger, two fried chicken breasts, barbecue pork rolls, an omelet, milk, and orange juice. [2]
Karla Faye Tucker: Banana, peach, and garden salad with ranch dressing.[13]
Mark Dean Schwab: Fried eggs (over easy), bacon, sausage links, hash browns, buttered toast, and a quart of chocolate milk.
Michael Bruce Ross (of Connecticut) declined a special meal, but dined on the regular prison meal of the day: turkey à la king with rice, mixed vegetables, white bread, fruit, and a beverage.[15]
Perry Smith and Richard Hickock: Shrimp, French fries, garlic bread, ice cream, and strawberries with whipped cream.[3]
Odell Barnes: Justice, Equality, World Peace.[16]
Philip Workman: He declined a special meal for himself, but he asked for a large vegetarian pizza to be given to a homeless person in Nashville, Tennessee. This request was denied by the prison, but carried out by others across the country.[17][18]
Rainey Bethea: Fried chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumbers, cornbread, lemon pie, and ice cream.[19]
Ricky Ray Rector: Steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid, and a pecan pie — which he did not eat, because he said he was saving it for later. [3]
Ringer Edwards requested chicken and beer. He escaped execution as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese military when his meal request could not be obtained.
Robert Alton Harris: A 21-piece bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, two large Domino's pizzas (no anchovies), ice cream, a bag of jelly beans, a six-pack of Pepsi, and a pack of Camel cigarettes.[20][21]
Saddam Hussein: The Times (UK) states that "he refused their offers of cigarettes and a last meal of chicken."[22] Other sources state a variety of meal options.[23]
*Ted Bundy declined a special meal, so he was given the traditional steak (medium-rare), eggs (over-easy), hash browns, toast, milk, coffee, juice, butter, and jelly.[3][24]
Timothy McVeigh: Two pints of mint chocolate-chip ice cream.[25][26]
Velma Barfield declined a special meal, having a bag of Cheez Doodles and a can of Coca-Cola instead.[27]
Victor Feguer requested a single olive with the pit still in.[28]
Wesley Baker: Breaded fish, pasta marinara, green beans, orange fruit punch, bread, and milk (Maryland execution: this was what was on the prison menu that day).[29]
William Bonin: Two pepperoni and sausage pizzas, three servings of chocolate ice cream, and fifteen cans of Coca-Cola.[30]
.jpg)
