Last of the Last Meals?

[Atheist-Lite]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15034970

Texas jails abolish last meals after uneaten banquet

Prison officials in the US state of Texas have abolished the traditional last meal request for inmates who are facing execution.

The move came after a prisoner requested a huge meal then did not eat any of it, saying he was not hungry.

Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed on Wednesday for the notorious hate-crime killing of James Byrd Jr in 1998.

The abolition followed a complaint by Texan Senator John Whitmire, who called the meal privilege "inappropriate".

Senator Whitmire, a Democrat and chairman of the state Senate Criminal Justice Committee, threatened to introduce legislation if the last meal offer was not withdrawn.

"Enough is enough," he said. "It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. It's a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim."

Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, replied within hours, saying the tradition would be abolished.

(continued, dis-)

[Bella Fortuna]

Just deny them afters if they don't eat their dinner. Oh wait... they already are...

[Svartalf]

I hope the rowers sue and get the Supremes to admit they have a constitutional right to a last supper.

[Clinton Huxley]

They'll be scrapping the penultimate meal next

[HomerJay]

Why don't they sell a franchise to McD?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"This is another health benefit we are giving the inmates. No clogged arteries or excess weight gain to degrade their bodies before they're killed and buried."

[Bella Fortuna]

Why don't they sell a franchise to McD?

Retool the Happy Meal into a boxed Last Meal, complete with toy electric chair?

[Rum]

Starve the bastards to death! Save on food and those death drugs they pump into them! I don't pay my taxes for them to be spent on feeding murderers!

(I hope you know I'm joking!)

[Warren Dew]

So where are all those death penalty hand wringers in this thread?

[amok]

So where are all those death penalty hand wringers in this thread?

I guess I'd be one of those, but I was frankly more surprised that the death-penalty types weren't pleased that the guy didn't have any appetite for his last meal.

It did sound like a stupid amount of (gross-sounding) food...

It included two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint of ice cream and peanut butter fudge.

... but the idea of calling it a "banquet" as if it would have cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars is pretty odd, too. What would that cost, considering it was take-out?

Further down in the story it says most U.S. states have a last meal tradition but they differ in its implementation. Some have a menu. Some such as Florida, impose a cost restriction. That seems reasonable.

Overall, since at least some of the the support I've heard for the death penalty being acceptable is that's it's a "traditional," part of that "tradition" is a last-meal request for the condemned.

I've never really thought about this aspect of the topic before, but the most astounding thing I saw in that story was:

Some requests have been unusual.

In 2007, Philip Workman asked for his vegetarian pizza to be given to a homeless person. The request was denied.

Why on earth would someone refuse a request to give a homeless person a condemned man's last meal? I just can't wrap my head around that.

[Feck]

So where are all those death penalty hand wringers in this thread?

You mean those people that think a society with an imperfect justice system shouldn't be killing people for the crime of not having a good enough lawyer to get them off the death penalty ? Now fuck me where would you find hand wringers like that surely not on a Rational forum .

[tattuchu]

So where are all those death penalty hand wringers in this thread?

You mean those people that think a society with an imperfect justice system shouldn't be killing people for the crime of not having a good enough lawyer to get them off the death penalty ? Now fuck me where would you find hand wringers like that surely not on a Rational forum .

I love you, Feck, I truly do

[tattuchu]

p.s. I was considering committing a heinous crime just for the free food. But if that's off the table (literally), then I may have to reconsider.