10 Last Requests From Notorious Criminals
James Edward Smith
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Many prisoners on death row see their last meal as the final opportunity to partake in a grand feast before meeting their eventual fate. James Edwards Smith, however, begged to differ. The Kentucky-born taxi driver was convicted of capital murder in Texas after fatally shooting an insurance executive during an armed robbery. Rather than the usual fare, Smith requested a lump of rhaeakunda dirt for his last meal, which is often associated with voodoo rituals. He reportedly believed that eating the dirt would aid his reincarnation after being executed. However, as the prison didn’t offer dirt as one of the options, Smith ended up with plain yogurt as his final meal.
Clarence Ray Allen
Clarence Ray Allen was a criminal mastermind who bagged a life sentence in 1978 for ordering the murder of a young lady because she snitched on him. While in prison, Allen devised a plan to secure his freedom by eliminating the witnesses who testified against him, thereby weakening the prosecution’s case in a potential new trial. This plan backfired, and he secured himself a death sentence instead, after being convicted of three murder counts. Allen, who claimed to be of Choctaw heritage, requested to meet with two Native American spiritual advisers before his death. He also asked to carry a medicine bag with him, and wear a beaded headband and a necklace he referred to as a “stairway to heaven”.
James French
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James French seemed to have had an obsession with his own death. Following his conviction for killing a man in 1958, he requested capital punishment, but was instead sentenced to life in prison. French eventually got his macabre wish fulfilled after he was found guilty of murdering his cellmate Eddie Lee Shelton. In the days leading up to his death, French was interviewed by a local reporter for the Oklahoma Monthly Magazine. During their discussion, he suggested a sensational newspaper headline for his execution. On August 10th 1966, French walked into the execution chamber and met his end in the electric chair. Afterwards, his words were reported in the local magazine: “French Fries”.
Odell Barnes
In November 1989, a woman named Helen Bass was robbed, physically assaulted and killed in her Wichita Falls, Texas home. The crime was eventually traced to Odell Barnes, who was found guilty largely due to forensic evidence and eyewitness testimony. Barnes’ case subsequently drew attention around the world, as multiple deficiencies emerged in the evidence used to convict him. Despite this, he was executed on March 2nd 2000. Prior to his death, Barnes made the unconventional request of “Justice, Equality, World Peace” for his final meal. Unfortunately, the Texas prison system had no provision to fulfill such a request. As a result, it was rejected.
Gary Gilmore
The hit song “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” by The Adverts tells the story of an individual who undergoes an eye transplant, only to discover that their new eyes formerly belonged to a double murderer. The track was inspired by the real-life case of Gary Gilmore, a convicted killer who took the lives of two men in Utah, in July 1976. Gilmore decided not to appeal his death sentence and even tried taking his own life twice when his execution was delayed. Before meeting his end by firing squad, Gilmore chose to donate his eyes to science, believing “they’d probably be the only body part usable”. Remarkably, mere hours after his death, his corneas were transplanted into two recipients.
John Wayne Gacy
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Before he began his despicable killing spree, John Wayne Gacy married his first wife Marlynn Myers. The newly-wedded couple moved to Waterloo, Iowa after Myers’ father bought three KFC outlets in the area. Gacy was tasked with managing these restaurants and took such a liking to his work that he demanded people call him ‘Colonel’. Years later, Gacy would be convicted of 33 murders, ultimately receiving a death sentence by lethal injection. For his last meal, the infamous killer clown harked back to his days as a restaurant manager. He requested a dozen fried shrimp, french fries, a pound of strawberries, Diet Coke, and perhaps fittingly, a bucket of original recipe KFC.
Philip Workman
In May 1982, Philip Workman was convicted of first degree murder for a botched armed robbery that resulted in the death of a police officer. Despite his efforts to appeal the conviction, Workman ultimately lost all legal proceedings and was made to face execution. When it came time to pick a final meal, Workman requested a large vegetarian pizza, but on one unusual condition: that it be given to a homeless person. This request was denied by prison officials and the inmate was put to death without having a final meal. However, his surprising decision had a profound impact. It inspired numerous people across the country to donate large numbers of pizzas to homeless shelters in Tennessee.
Victor Feguer
When you think about a death row inmate’s last meal, you typically picture a mammoth feast fit for a king. But Michigan drifter Victor Feguer took a radically different approach. Feguer landed himself on death row after kidnapping and killing a doctor, supposedly to acquire drugs from him. His last meal request was simple: a single olive, complete with its pit. Feguer reportedly opted for this choice in the hope that once he was buried, the olive would grow into a tree, as a symbol of peace. After he met his end by hanging, prison officials discovered that Feguer had preserved the olive pit in one of his suit pockets.
Ted Bundy
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Regarded as “the very definition of heartless evil,” Ted Bundy claimed the lives of at least 20 people, although his actual victim count may be much more. Bundy escaped from police custody twice, but was ultimately convicted and handed three death sentences. On January 24th 1989, he was executed in the electric chair at the Florida State Prison. The night before his execution, Bundy signed a will stipulating that he be cremated and his ashes scattered over the Cascade Range of Washington State. This was the exact location where he buried the remains of at least four of his victims. The choice of this resting place seemed like a final flip-off from a heartless killer to his victims.
Lawrence Russell Brewer
Across most U.S. states, prisoners on death row are allowed a specialized dish for their last meal. However, that privilege was revoked in Texas after Lawrence Russell Brewer. Brewer was a white supremacist who was sentenced to death for the racially motivated 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. Brewer’s last meal request was unusually extravagant. It included chicken fried steaks, a cheeseburger, cheese omelet, fried okra, barbecued meat and white bread, fajitas and a meat-lover’s pizza. For desserts, he asked for ice cream, peanut-butter fudge and three root beers to wash it all down. Surprisingly, when the meal arrived, Brewer declined it, claiming he wasn’t hungry. The move infuriated Texas State Senator John Whitmire, who pushed for an end to special last meals. What other unusual final requests have you heard of? Sound off in the comments below!
