Infamous Murderers On Death Row, Last Meals, Last Words & My Thoughts On The Death Penalty

(Yours truly, not an infamous murderer, just a true crime blogger and hopefully, one day...a published true crime author. Come find me on Instagram & my weekly personal posts on Ko-fi) 

I wanted to do something a little different for this week's post especially as I am still working on my latest case. My latest case is one that I want to really delve into and it may be a long one in three or four parts, so I thought whilst you are waiting for that one, I would post this one which I find is quite an interesting topic.

The death penalty is one of those subjects that divides people, some people are for it and some people are against it. I want to talk about one of the things that has always baffled me....why do convicted murderers get the choice of a last meal? I don't know who came up with this idea but I've never agreed with it.

Over the years I have read some horrendous cases where someone has raped, murdered, dismembered or buried someone alive (the worst things you could ever imagine a human being doing) and they've been sentenced to death and given the choice of a last meal. In my mind, they don't deserve a last meal, their victims didn't have that luxury, their victims died in sheer terror and horrendous pain so why should they get a slap up meal? 

As for the death penalty, my thoughts are...if someone is 100% guilty of their crimes, depending on what the crimes were, they should suffer the consequences without a fancy last dinner. Having a lethal injection or the electric chair is nothing compared to what their victims endured. I also understand that in a lot of cases relatives of victims would prefer to see the murderer of their loved one in prison for the rest of their lives. Then there's also the argument that tax payer's money is being wasted by keeping them in prison for that long. 

(Lawrence Russell Brewer. Picture credit: historica.fandom.com)

When it comes to the last meal, I am aware that in Texas they have now put a stop to this tradition ever since an inmate by the name of Lawrence Russell Brewer (who was a vile piece of work, a white supremacist who was convicted and sentenced to death for the horrific murder of James Byrd Jr in 1998) decided that he would have one last laugh at the expense of the state by ordering for his last meal:

- Triple bacon cheeseburger.
- Two chicken fried steaks drenched in gravy with onions.
- Three fajitas.
- Cheese omelette.
- A large portion of fried okra.
- A pound of barbecue meat.
- Half a loaf of white bread.
- A pint pf ice cream.
- Three root beers.
- A peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts.

It shocks me that the prison actually catered to this guy and do you know what? he never took a bite out of one single thing! It was because of this that they stopped with prisoners being able to request pathetic amounts of food items, now they get a basic meal. In other states though, they sadly still carry on the tradition but are said to have clamped down hard on it and prisoners are set a budget and there are restrictions to what they can order.

Lawrence was put to death by lethal injection on the 21st of September 2011, he was 44 years old. When asked if he had any final words, he replied ''No, I have no final statement''.

(Ted Bundy. Photo credit: biography.com)

Next, I want to talk about the infamous Ted Bundy who's face seems to pop up everywhere right now. I wonder how many books, movies and documentaries are out there about him, it must be hundreds. Ted was convicted of the rape and murder of at least 36 young women, it could be more as I've always said with serial killers, there are the victims that we know about and the ones that we may never know about. Some people believe that he started killing in his teenage years.

Ted did what he could to try and delay his execution and had given an infamous interview hours before his death where he blamed pornography for his crimes. He declined a last meal and was given a traditional last meal of:

- A medium cooked steak.
- Eggs over easy.
- Hash browns.
- Toast with butter and jelly.
- Milk & juice.

He didn't eat anything that was put before him. Ted went to the electric chair on the 24th of January 1989, he was 43 years old. His last words were ''I'd like to give my love to my family and friends.''

(John Wayne Gacy. Picture credit: investigationdiscovery.com)

John Wayne Gacy is another name you will be familiar with, he was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering 33 teenage boys and young men. Like Ted Bundy, there are quite a number of books and documentaries about John but if you are interested in this case, please check out the movie To Catch A Killer, John Dennehy puts in a remarkable performance as Gacy, I'm always telling other true crime buffs to watch it.

John liked his food and once worked as a manager for KFC amongst other things. For his last meal he ordered:

- 12 fried shrimp.
- A bucket of KFC chicken.
- French fries.
- A pound of strawberries.

John Wayne Gacy died by lethal injection on the 10th of May 1994, he was 52 years old and his last words were ''Kiss my ass''.


(Timothy McVeigh. Picture credit: newson6.com)

The Oklahoma bomber, Timothy McVeigh was responsible for the deaths of 168 people who he called ''collateral damage'' when he planted a bomb in a truck next to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on the morning of the 19th of April 1995. Theories still circulate today about who else (apart from Terry Nichols) may or may not have helped him plant the bomb.

His last meal was simple, he ordered two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Timothy was put to death by lethal injection on the morning of the 11th of June 2001. He chose the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley as his final statement. He was 33 years old and was said to have shown no emotion on the lead up to the execution. A relative of one of his victims said ''He got the last word by not saying a word.''

(Aileen Wuornos. Picture credit: scalar.usc.edu)

Aileen Wuornos, who is another name you will probably be familar with, was responsible for the deaths of seven men who she claimed had tried to rape or attack her. Aileen was working as a prostitute at the time. The movie Monster was based on her life and Charlize Theron gave an amazing performance in which she deservedly won an Oscar.

What did Aileen order for her last meal?.... a cup of coffee!

Just before her execution by lethal injection on the 9th of October 2002, she was asked if she would like to say something, her final statement was this ''I'd just like to say I'm sailing with the rock, and I'll be back, like Independence Day, with Jesus, June 6th, like the movie, big mothership and all. I'll be back.'' Aileen was 46 years old at the time of her execution.

(John Martin Scripps. Picture credit: tumblr.com)

John Martin Scripps is a name that you might not be so familiar with but he is known as ''The Tourist From Hell''. He murdered 6 people (that we know of, he could have been responsible for more deaths) in multiple countries, he would befriend people, murder them and dismember them. He was sent to a prison in Singapore (where they don't mess about, no luxury conditions or pampering in the prisons there) and was hanged on the 19th of April 1996. I suppose you could say that he did have some luxury as he did have pizza and hot chocolate as his final meal. He was 36 years old when he died. There's no record (that I can find) of what he said before he died (if he did say anything at all?) but in the days leading up to the execution he wrote about the emptiness he felt inside and had dreams about escaping the death penalty by commiting suicide.

(Charles Starkweather. Picture credit: wyohistory.org)

Charles Starkweather is one you may remember me writing about before, if you are a regular reader of my blog. You can find my previous post about this case here

Charles (19) and his 14 year old girlfriend went on a two month killing spree which saw the deaths of 10 people which included his girlfriend's parents. His last meal wasn't really a fancy affair, he was asked if he wanted steak but he opted for cold cuts instead.

He went to the electric chair on the 25th of June 1959. He was 20 years old. He had no final words and was said to have been calm right up to the end.

Well, I hope you found this post interesting and informative. If you are a subscriber to my blog on Ko-fi and would like me to cover any of the cases (obviously apart from Charles Starkweather) above, let me know.

See you in the next post x

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Check out some of the true crime cases I have covered previously:

 - The Real Buffalo Bill & His House Of Horror | Gary Michael Heidnik

- Playing With Fire: Mick & Mairead Philpott 

- What Happened To The Petit Family?

- The Most Evil Cult Leader In History? | Roch Theriault

- The Truck Stop Serial Killer 

- Deadly Lust: The Pamela Smart Story 

- The Dark & Haunting History of Overtoun Bridge 

- The Stuff Of Nightmares | The Toy Box Killer: David Parker Ray

- Beyond Evil: The Murder of Jessica Lunsford 

- Death Row Scot: The Kenny Richey Story: Part One

- Death Row Scot: The Kenny Richey Story: Part Two

- Death Row Scot: The kenny Richey Story: Part Three

- Don't Talk, Just Listen...The Weepy Voiced Killer

- Amityville | The DeFeo Murders

- What Really Happened To Mavis Bran? 

- Nowhere To Run: The Marilyn McKenna Story | Part One

 - Unsolved : Part Three: The Highway Of Tears & The Disappearance Of Maddy Scott 

- Unsolved: Part Two | What Happened To Melanie Melanson? 

- Unsolved: Part One | Molly Bish & Holly Piirainen 

- The Dark Side of The Internet: The Amanda Todd Story 

- The Story of Bible John


























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2 comments:

  1. The String Theory9 February 2020 at 22:22

    I think the whole process of the American Judicial System needs a complete overhaul in regards to death sentences. For a inmate to sit on death row for as long as they do is a waste of taxpayers dollars. The privatization of prisons has made the whole system rigged to make money by incarceration. Once a death sentence has been handed down and after a decent appeal has been looked at (90 day limit on that too), they should have no more than 30 days to live. Most of the crimes committed are horrific and the family's of the victim suffer as a result knowing that this person is alive but on death row.
    And no last meals! No friends or family visiting either! The victims family didn't get to say goodbye, why should the killer's friends and family get to?

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  2. Unknown11 February 2020 at 00:53

    I agree with you kitty. Why should the prisoners have a last meal. I think if someone was killed by a gun a knife burned alive or even being buried alive. Then they should feel what there victims went through and why the prisoners get to have a last meal I think that they should never have a last meal as there victims never got the chance to have one. An amazing blog again I look forward to the next one. 😚😚😚

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