The Texas Department of Criminal Justice had a website that lists the final meal requests of every prisoner executed between 1982 and 2003. The TDCJ pulled the site in 2003, but archives like the one I link to above are available.
I hesitated before posting this. After all, this meal is the last piece of personal control a prisoner has before their death. Airing it out all over the blogosphere seemed a little, well, crass. Then I started looking over the site.
It turns out that a mass of fried chicken, double-meat hamburgers, RC Cola and over easy eggs can be depressing, poignant and revealing. Although there are a few oddball requests, most of the selections are wholeheartedly comfort food, the kinds of things that might remind someone of family and youth and, maybe, of good times. Milk and sweet tea are common, salads and fruit appear more often than you'd think and steak runs a close third to burgers and chicken.
The whole final meal tradition has always struck me as a bit odd. It's more a ritual to assuage the executioners than the prisoner, one final bit of good cheer and kindness before the needle goes in. Not really a holiday pick-me-up, but check it out if you want a different view of the death penalty, or maybe just some perspective on your own food choices.
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2007.