A most entertaining read! Not only does it list the often quite entertaining final meals of many death row inmates (inspired of course by the Texas Department of Justice which used to list the final meals on its execution page before sadly taking them down a couple of years ago), but it also provides many fun facts about executions, such as the one above. The book is filled with short little snippets which makes it the perfect bathroom reader. I highly recommend putting one in yours today!

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Product Description

A murderer from Texas ordered twenty-four tacos for his last meal---and that was just the appetizer! A Maryland man wanted nothing but a cup of coffee prior to his lethal injection, while a killer from Oklahoma requested SpaghettiOs and was enraged when he didn't get them!

Does a condemned man's last meal somehow shed light on his inner psyche? Like a mystic reading tea leaves, do we hope to discover the reasoning behind a mad killer's crimes by examining the gravy smears on his plate? Regardless of the reasons, the last meals of executed criminals have long provided food for thought, and Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals from Death Row adds an unusual---and sometimes comical---twist to the controversial capital punishment debate.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #645283 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

From the Inside Flap
How's this for a last meal: 24 tacos, 2 cheeseburgers, 2 whole onions, 5 jalapeno peppers, 6 enchiladas, 6 tostadas, one quart of milk and one chocolate milkshake? That's what David Castillo, convicted murderer, packed in the night before Texas shot him up with a lethal injection. Or how about this: A dozen steamed mussels, a Burger King double cheeseburger with mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato, a can of Franco-American spaghetti with meatballs, a mango, half of a pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and a strawberry milkshake -- all that went down the hatch of killer Thomas Grasso on the eve of Oklahoma's giving him the needle.

The United States remains one of the few "civilized" nations to utilize capital punishment as a crime-fighting tool. Execution rituals have always varied slightly from state to state, not only in the method of death but also in the care and treatment of the accused during his final hours. One ritual that remains constant throughout all 38 states which have the death penalty is the act of feeding the condemned man a special last meal before the execution. The quantity and quality of the food available to the inmate does vary, but each man or woman is always allowed to partake of one final feast before they shake hands with the Grim Reaper.

The ritual seems to be important not only to the inmate and to prison officials, but to the general public as well. Almost every newspaper article documenting an execution lists the condemned man's last meal alongside his last words and the other details of the execution, making one wonder why this tidbit of information is so greedily sought after. Regardless of the reasons, it can truly be said that criminals aren't the only ones with an appetite for "last suppers." So dig in and enjoy!

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Customer Reviews

Informational and Entertaining
The Last Suppers captured my attention immediately and I read it cover to cover in less than four hours. I simply could not put it down. This book covers famous final meals from death row and it is stuffed full of fascinating details about everything from who ate what (and why, in some cases) to what landed them on death row. Even more amazing than the sheer size of some of the meals are the jailhouse recipes in mammoth proportions and the fabulous sense of humor that the authors use to deliver the dirt on death row. Even though the crimes that these criminals committed were heinous, the authors relate the facts with grace, humor and objectivity, keeping the reader interested and turning pages. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone with a sense of humor and looking for a great chili recipe for a LARGE family!

A book worth reading
I have to admit I was somewhat skeptical about "Last Suppers" before I read it, just because...well, it is a book about inmates' last meals! But once I started reading it, I could not put it down until I had read it all. It is about meals, all right, but there is much more to this book than that. In a very unusual way, it deals with the controversy, created by a strictly American phenomena - the death penalty. And this makes "Last Suppers" quite an interesting reading both to Americans and people like me, who come from countries which have abolished the death penalty. The writing by Treadwell and Vernon, and the design of the book are very good. I strongly recommend reading "Last Suppers" - it is worth it.

Morbid Bathroom Fodder
A most entertaining read! Not only does it list the often quite entertaining final meals of many death row inmates (inspired of course by the Texas Department of Justice which used to list the final meals on its execution page before sadly taking them down a couple of years ago), but it also provides many fun facts about executions. The book is filled with short little snippets which makes it the perfect bathroom reader. I highly recommend putting one in yours today!