Prisoners on death row in those states that still allow the death penalty have traditionally been offered the proverbial “last meal” before they their executions. This practice may soon become a thing of the past.
These meals are sometimes luxurious; they can consist of whatever a convict desires. Over time, many have speculated over whether it is fair to offer these prisoners, who are often serving time for murder and other violent crimes, a grandiose meal of their choosing. The practice has long been contested and controversial, with concern over whether these convicts are indulged too much.
Hours before the latest man to be executed in the American prison system, Jamie Willis, was killed, he was offered a seafood buffet: two catfish filets, three oysters, three onion rings, and one stuffed crab at his request.
The convicted murderer was found guilty of beating an elderly couple to death, landing him on death row in the Alabama prison, USA Today reported. Mills got the choice of his last meal before being taken to die by lethal injection.
“Food is a focal point for all of us. It’s a point of enjoyment and pleasure and comfort, and that’s sort of its reputation,” said Deborah Denno, law professor and founding director of the Neuroscience and Law Center at Fordham University. “It seems that we would provide this for somebody who’s going to eat for the very last time, and that makes us feel better about ourselves. At the same time, it does seem very strange.”
Of the 19 states where capital punishment is legal and practiced, a USA Today analysis found that only 12 allow special last meals, with two of those implementing a price limit, and six of them only serving prison food as last meal options.
Some who are against the practice argue that the meals allow convicts to make a statement by ordering an overly-extravagant or unusual last feast, while others suggest the last meal represents the country’s own ambivalence toward capital punishment and a kind of shared fascination toward it.
“We’re human beings – we all fear death. It’s something we’re all going to face,” Denno said. “The fact that your last meal is documented in a way that, for the great majority of us, is probably not going to be, is something of a fascination.”
