In her throat
Before execution, you can eat anything. It is an occasion to push the boat out and annoy the guards.
Sentenced to death, Americans have the opportunity before sentence is carried out to eat a favorite food, but not always and not everywhere. Why do some States refuse from the tradition, and the prisoners ordered meals from one of the olives before feasting on all the prison — in the material “Tape.ru”.
The last choice
The tradition to provide a selection menu of the last meal is rooted in the biblical story of the last supper. Over the centuries it has changed: for example, in France sentenced to death were given a glass of rum for a few minutes before gelatinizare to dull the fear. In the US the last meal turned into a feast for the stomach — many of the prisoners to order meals, served not in all restaurants, of course, if it is allowed by the laws of the state.
Although in many ways, the ritual is designed in order to show the murder with the death penalty differs from ordinary murder: the offender is given the last word and the last supper and his death record witnesses.
As a rule, doomed to death a prisoner can not order alcohol or to ask for a cigar. In the event absolutely unusual orders, the prison administration reserves the right to substitute ingredients to make it more accessible or cheap. Although there are exceptions: in Louisiana, where convicted person to death last traditionally has dinner with the warden, the latter had to splurge on the lobster. Sometimes the inmates share their dishes with their cellmates or even arrange a feast for the whole prison. Convicted for the murder Phillip Walker from Tennessee ordered a huge vegetarian pizza and wanted to distribute it to the local homeless, but the prison administration refused to do his will. However, charitable organizations of the state have made concessions, and on the day of his execution ordered for vagrants hundreds of vegetarian pizzas.
In other States introduced strict restrictions on what and how much can be ordered: Florida products must be purchased within the state, and the cost should not exceed $ 40. The usual last meal for those who want to invent anything that consists of a steak, medium rare, scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast with butter and orange marmalade, milk and juice. In Maryland and decided to save the prisoner will receive regular prison dinner.
Tradition is considered to be controversial: not everyone believes that the execution of criminals at the Federal level so closely covered in the news, but before death they give to choose what to eat. Journalist Bob Greene was indignant that bombed, killing 168 people (including women and children), Timothy McVeigh was given the opportunity to finally enjoy two buckets of chocolate-mint ice cream.
Not only that, the last days of a killer show live, as if it were the inauguration of the President, he can choose dinner as a hotel guest in a luxury hotel. There is something absurd and hypocritical in this tradition, it offends the memory of the killer’s victims and their relatives.Bob Ringwraith
Green spoke strongly for the abolition of tradition, citing the fact that to pay food taxes spent state residents — including relatives of the victims from the hands of criminals.
However, there are those who refuse to eat finally, for the sake of ideas. Hobo Victor Fager was the last American hanged to a ten-year moratorium on the death penalty in 1967-1977 years and the last executed in the state of Iowa. The man accused in the kidnapping and killing of a doctor in pursuit of hard drugs. In prison, Feger found religion at the last supper asked only an olive with bone.
His unusual choice, he explained the desire to have on his grave grew the olive tree as a symbol of peace.
All night the man prayed with a Catholic priest, and the next morning I put on my new suit and went to the gallows. He was executed at dawn, and in the pocket of a prison guard found the pit of the olive. Vegera buried in an unmarked grave in another suit, specially prepared for the funeral. Unknown, did bone in the ground with him.
In 2011, Texas authorities have canceled the tradition for the prisoner, who was able with her for the last time to show that his spirit did not break bondage. Lawrence Russell brewer ordered an incredibly nutritious dinner: two chicken steaks with gravy and sliced onions, coarse bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, a bowl of edible abelmosk with ketchup, a pound of meat on the grill with a loaf of white bread, three fajita, meat lover’s pizza (pepperoni, ham, beef, bacon and sausages), a bucket of ice cream, a bar of toffee peanut butter with pieces of nuts and three glasses of root beer. When Brewer filed a kingly repast, he refused it and said I wasn’t hungry. Food had to be thrown out. The scandal has even reached state Senator John Whitmire, who said he believes such appetites inappropriate for criminals.
Enough. It is unethical to provide sentenced to death this privilege; a privilege which he was deprived of his victim.John Witmer
The abolition of the tradition in Texas has drawn sharp criticism of the former prison cook Brian price, author of “Meals to die for,” in which he described the recipes of the last meals of prisoners and told a few stories associated with prison life. “We must not abandon the tradition of the last supper. Justice will be realized when a person is executed, but can’t we show him a little understanding and kindness?” — he turned to the Senator through journalists. Price was willing himself free to cook for doomed to death, but the state government refused to use its services.
The man explained that he had spent 14 years in jail for raping ex-wife and realizes how strong the prejudices of society against criminals convicted of crimes of high severity. Price admitted that he himself had experienced confusion when asked to prepare meals for the condemned on the death penalty: “I studied their case, and thought: how am I going to cook for these people?” He admitted that the turning point in his perception was when he spoke to the cellmate, Manny Lopez, who had to clean the room, which was a place of execution.
“Manny told me that he doesn’t have any effect scrubbing the blood off of the stretcher. But it deeply touched the handprints, lipstick and traces of tears on the window through which relatives and friends watched the punishment,” he said. After that, the Price began to imagine that the execution is his brother, and cook has become much easier. “Every time I prayed over the dishes that they prepared. As a Christian, I had no right to judge them — God will do it, before which they were about to appear”, — he said. Sometimes they even gave him thanks.
Over the 14 years spent in jail, Pryce refused to cook only one man, Leopoldo Narvais, which killed four school friends of his daughter.
Pryce was released from prison, opened a restaurant and married. But the memories have not gone away, therefore he really wants to keep such an important tradition. “And so they feed them only with products that are in the kitchen. If they order lobster, they will be given a piece of ice cream Pollock. Steak stopped showing since 1994. If prisoners will be ordering a hundred tacos, they will give two or three, and the Newspapers write that gave a hundred. To it all went, Texas has always been heartless towards prisoners”, — he lamented.
The disclosure of his culinary talent Price shall jail when he got there, he was asked who he worked for will. His talents as a photographer and musician are not impressed by the prison authorities, so he was determined to the kitchen and told me to learn how to cook. At first he worked under a chef named Thief, who just couldn’t leave the kitchen, not trying to carry anything with you: “One day he tied three-liter jar of peanut butter to one leg and the same capacity with jelly to another.” The kitchen lacked equipment, American, managed to learn to cook everything from bread to meat, using a minimum of tools.
According to him, most prisoners ordered simple dishes like burgers and fries, “I added to the meat with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then cooked onions on the grill and put it on a bun that was toasted with butter. I did everything I could, and chose the most fresh lettuce and tomatoes”. Sometimes, however, inmates were asked of them: one day, Price just serve a jar of pickles.