Ever wondered what inmates on death row ask for their last meal? The weird requests in this video might surprise you as we take a look at the top 15 Strangest Death Row Last Meal Requests.
15 – Timothy McVeigh
Given the heinous nature of his crimes and the infamy surrounding him, the simplicity of McVeigh’s last meal was notable.
Executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, McVeigh was convicted of orchestrating the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
The bomb killed 168 people and injured hundreds more with his death being the first federal execution in the United States since 1963.
As was customary for federal executions, he was offered the opportunity to select a last meal.
McVeigh’s last meal was two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream which he reportedly ate in his windowless cell during the night.
14 – Victor Feguer
Feguer was only 28 years old when he was executed by hanging in 1963 for the murder of Dr Edward Bartels.
Feguer kidnapped the physician, 34, and killed him in Illinois, with Dr Bartels’ body later being found dumped in a cornfield with a single gunshot to the head after faking a medical emergency.
Authorities arrested Feguer in Alabama a few days later after the FBI received a tip off from a bloke who became suspicious when the killer tried to sell him the doctor’s car without any paperwork
Described as a model prisoner, Feguer even tried to contact President John F. Kennedy to get his sentence commuted.
Given a new suit for his execution on 15 March, 1963, Victor Feguer only asked for a single olive with the pit still in for his last meal.
Officers reportedly found the pit in his suit pocket after the death sentence had been carried out.
13 – James Edwards Smith
Believing that performing a voodoo ritual at the time of his death would enhance his chances of reincarnation, Smith’s last meal request was ultimately deemed insane.
Executed in Texas in 1984 for shooting a life insurance firm’s district manager, and his final meal request was one of the most peculiar in history.
Smith was originally scheduled for execution on May 11, 1988, and requested a lump of rhaeakunda dirt for his last meal.
The request was denied by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice because dirt was not included on the list of approved foods.
On June 26, 1990, almost two years after his first date, Smith was executed via lethal injection in the execution chamber at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas.
He was offered a plain yogurt as his final last meal, which he accepted.
12 – Gary Carl Simmons, Jr.
Nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ due to his modus operandi and his former profession, Simmons was convicted of kidnap, rape, and capital murder.
He is said to have ordered one of the largest meals ever for a death row inmate and it began with Pizza Hut medium Super Supreme Deep Dish pizza, double portion, with mushrooms, onions, jalapeño peppers, and pepperoni.
This was followed up by another pizza, regular portion, with three cheeses, olives, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, and Italian sausage.
Alongside the pizza’s, Simmons asked for ten 8-ounce. packs of Parmesan cheese, ten 8-ounce packs of ranch dressing, one family size pack of Doritos nacho cheese flavour, jalapeño nacho cheese, and 4-ounces of sliced jalapeños.
Not having to watch his waistline while tucking into his final meal, he wanted a super-size order of McDonald’s fries with extra ketchup and mayonnaise, and two pints of strawberry ice cream.
To wash everything down, he had two large strawberry shakes and two 20-oz. cherry Cokes.
11 – Velma Barfield
Velma Barfield, the first woman to be executed in the United States after the resumption of the death penalty in 1976, had fried chicken, potato chips, and a Coke as her last meal.
Barfield had at least 6 confirmed victims, although she was only tried for one murder, that of her boyfriend.
She later confessed to murdering others, including her mother, through arsenic poisoning.
She was executed by lethal injection in North Carolina on November 2, 1984, for the poisoning murders of multiple victims, including her fiancé.
10 – Phillip Workman
Phillip Workman, who was executed in Tennessee on May 9, 2007, declined a traditional last meal for himself.
Instead, he requested that a large vegetarian pizza be donated to a homeless person in Nashville.
However, prison officials denied his request, stating that they could not fulfill it.
In response, people across the country who heard about Workman’s request took it upon themselves to donate vegetarian pizzas to homeless shelters in his honor.
Many shelters reportedly received numerous pizzas following his execution.
9 – Gerald Lee Mitchell
Gerald Lee Mitchell, who was executed in Texas on October 22, 2001, requested a unique last meal, a bag of assorted Jolly Rancher candies.
Unlike many inmates who choose traditional comfort foods such as burgers or fried chicken, Mitchell’s request for only candy stood out as unusual.
He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for crimes committed during a robbery in 1985 when he was 17 years old.
8 – Peter J. Miniel
Miniel was convicted of a brutal murder committed during a 1986 robbery in Houston, Texas and was executed in Texas on October 6, 2004.
He is thought to have requested one of the largest last meals in history that included 20 beef tacos, 20 beef enchiladas, 2 double cheeseburgers, A pizza with jalapeños, Fried chicken and Spaghetti with salt.
This was washed down with 3 root beers and a selection of extras including 5 garlic cloves, A small bowl of diced onions and even more Jalapeños.
Miniel finished off his crazy request with desert, including Peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts, Half of a vanilla cake, Half of a chocolate cake and Cookies-and-cream ice cream.
It is currently un-clear how much of this food he was able to eat before he went to the death chamber.
7 – Lawrence Russell Brewer
Another lover of large meals, Brewer was executed in Texas on September 21, 2011, and requested an extravagant last meal.
His first course included two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions, a triple meat bacon cheeseburger and a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños.
Next came the large bowl of fried okra with ketchup, a pound of barbecue with half a loaf of white bread and a meat lover’s pizza with three fajitas.
Desert included one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts and everything washed down with three root beers.
6 – Aileen Wuornos
Unlike some inmates who choose elaborate last meals, Wuornos did not make any unusual requests, which some have interpreted as a reflection of her mental state and attitude toward her impending execution.
A simple black cup of coffee was all that she requested before heading to her final destination and declined a special meal request, instead opting for a standard prison meal.
Wuornos was a convicted serial killer who was executed in Florida in 2002 by lethal injection for the murder of six people.
She was the second woman in Florida and the tenth in the United States to be executed since the 1976 United States Supreme Court decision restoring capital punishment.
5 – Adolf Eichmann
One of the worst high-ranking Nazi officials and one of the key architects of the Holocaust during World War 2, Eichmann was executed by hanging in Israel on June 1st, 1962.
His last meal was reportedly a bottle of dry red wine, which he drank only half of, giving himself a toast to a very dark past.
Standard prison food was reportedly the only other thing he ate before heading to the gallows.
Before his execution, his final words were said to be: “I hope that all of you will follow me.”
After his execution, Eichmann’s body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea, outside Israeli territorial waters, to ensure there would be no burial site for Nazi sympathizers to visit.
4 – Saddamm Hussein
One of the most prolific dictators of the 20th century, he former President of Iraq, was executed by hanging on December 30, 2006 after ruling Iraq with an iron fist for decades.
Reports about his last meal vary, but the most commonly cited accounts suggest that he was offered a simple and traditional Iraqi meal.
This is said to have included chicken and rice, hot water with honey and he was allowed cigarettes, which he smoked before his execution.
Some say he had Western food, like a hamburger and fries, however this has never been confirmed.
3 – Ricky Ray Rector
Ricky Ray Rector, a convicted murderer executed in Arkansas on January 24, 1992, made a memorable last meal request that became widely discussed.
For his final meal, Rector ordered a steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid, and a pecan pie.
However, what made his request particularly notable was that he left the pecan pie untouched, telling prison officials he was “saving it for later.”
Rector’s final meal has often been cited as an example of his diminished mental state having suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head during his arrest, which resulted in significant brain damage.
His lawyers argued that he was not mentally competent to be executed, as he struggled to comprehend the reality of his situation.
Despite these concerns, his execution proceeded, with then-Governor Bill Clinton returning to Arkansas during his 1992 presidential campaign to oversee it.
2 – John Wayne Gacy
One of the coldest and most brutal serial killers in American history, John Wayne Gacy is thought to have murdered over 33 people during his crime spree.
Gacy was transferred to the Menard Correctional Center, where he remained on death row for 14 years before being transferred to Stateville Correctional Center for his final hours.
Gacy was allowed a private picnic on the prison grounds with his family during his last meal which included a bucket of KFC, french fries, a dozen fried shrimp, fresh strawberries and a Diet Coke.
Today, Gacy’s crimes are one of the reasons for the Amber Alert system being in place, after Illinois police had to wait 72 hours before initiating a search for a missing child or adolescent during his spree.
1 – Robert Alton Harris
Convicted of the 1978 murders of two teenage boys in San Diego, whom he killed after carjacking them to use their vehicle in a bank robbery, Harris became the death chambers first victim after a 25-year hiatus.
For his last meal, he ordered a 21-piece bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, two large Domino’s pizzas, a bag of jelly beans, a six-pack of Pepsi, and a pack of Camel cigarettes.
Harris had his request for cigarettes denied, thanks to prison policies prohibiting tobacco. and he was executed in California on April 21st, 1992.
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