Death row inmates had the tradition of choosing their final meal before their execution. However, this practice was abruptly halted by prison officials following a controversial request made by Lawrence Russell Brewer, a convicted murderer executed on 21 September 2011 for the killing of James Byrd Jr.
Brewer, who expressed no remorse for his crime, stirred controversy by ordering an extravagant last meal but refusing to eat any of it, claiming he was not hungry. His extensive menu included items like a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, a meat-lover’s pizza, a cheese omelette with beef and vegetables, fajitas, chicken-fried steaks, okra, barbecue meat, bread, peanut butter fudge, ice cream, and root beer.
This bizarre incident led Texas prison officials to suspend last meal requests for all inmates, replacing them with standard prison meals, effective immediately after Brewer’s execution. The decision was swiftly implemented and confirmed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shortly thereafter.
The move to abolish last meal requests came after Senator John Whitmire criticized the privilege as inappropriate, stating that condemned individuals should not receive such special treatment that their victims never had. This reform followed a similar situation two decades earlier involving James Edward Smith, who was denied his request for a “lump of dirt” as his final meal.
Despite the passage of more than a decade since the change in Texas, public opinion remains divided on the stricter rules surrounding final meal requests. Some speculate that Brewer’s excessive food order was a deliberate act to provoke prison staff, suggesting that he never intended to consume the vast amount of food he requested.