The Death Row Cookbook: The Famous Last Meals (With Recipes) of Death Row Convicts
The last meals of death row convicts fascinate us because they offer an insight into a disturbed mind shortly before its owner’s death. The last meal is a way for the system to offer a last minute nod to humanity; that although these murderers, rapists, and villains listed below may have performed inhuman acts, they are still indeed human.
The irony of feeding a criminal before killing them by electrocution or lethal injection is not missed on many of the inmates, as we shall see from some of their choices. Controversial and fascinating, the last meals of the condemned will continue to make headlines as long as the death penalty exists.
This book contains both a brief history of the chefs who make the meals and the stories behind the last meals of over two dozen famous death row inmates (recipes are also included, of course).
The irony of feeding a criminal before killing them by electrocution or lethal injection is not missed on many of the inmates, as we shall see from some of their choices. Controversial and fascinating, the last meals of the condemned will continue to make headlines as long as the death penalty exists.
This book contains both a brief history of the chefs who make the meals and the stories behind the last meals of over two dozen famous death row inmates (recipes are also included, of course).
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The Death Row Cookbook (ePub or PDF) |
Excerpt
The Chefs behind the Final Meal Death Row and Capital Punishment
“Death Row” refers to the cordoned-off section of a prison - most likely a maximum-security prison - where the people being detained there have been accused and found guilty of a crime that warrants capital punishment. Not all countries in the world have laws condoning, accepting, or enforcing capital punishment, but if it is an option for sentencing, and the deciding party believes that death is the only rightful consequence for the person being accused, it is possible. The members of that deciding party must consent by a majority to enforce this punishment upon the accused.
Many people refer to and understand the phrase “capital punishment” to mean a death sentence - and they are completely correct. In many different countries, capital punishment is an incredibly sensitive and controversial topic that, if brought up in conversation, can lead to very public and very heated arguments.
Many people have staunch personal opinions on the subject. Not so many people give much thought to those whose job it is to actually cook and deliver a last meal to a death row inmate.
Inside Death Row Kitchens
How can a chef stand to make a meal for a person who was convicted of a crime so abhorrent that it has been deemed right for that person to die?
Just because death row inmates don’t have as many rights as the average person who is still allowed to walk free and live his or her life, the general thought is that those who are incarcerated and awaiting certain death still have the right to privacy, even if it is limited. It may not be widely publicized, but all ethics aside, it is fairly certain that the chef who is responsible for cooking that inmate’s last meal knows exactly the crimes that were committed.
What happens if the chef personally knows someone who has suffered that same crime? What if the chef has actually been a victim of that particular crime? The chef may happen to be a victim of a similar crime that was committed. The chef may have personal knowledge of a victim of a similar type of crime. The chef may even have a close relative - a wife, son, or daughter - who was a victim of the same type of crime. How does the chef cope with the fact that he or she is duty-bound to cook a nourishing meal for a person who willingly hurt another human being - or many other human beings - and will just die soon enough anyway?
Is it immoral for the chef to spit in the inmate’s last meal? Is it immoral for the chef to do something worse to the food, such as undercook it, or do something that makes it taste bad? Would anyone who is in the kitchen with the chef even care which horrible or untoward things are done to that inmate’s last meal?
When we look at these questions in an objective sense, the majority of people would most likely feel some sort of remorse or guilt if they did anything like that to another human being’s very last meal. However, the chef is around those death row inmates for the majority of the day. The inmates are not going to be kind or civil to anyone who keeps them locked up and in constant confinement day in and day out, whether they are guilty or not.
Inmates may start their death row sentence with the best of intentions, in order to atone for the crime or crimes committed, but no human being can stay completely positive in such a horrible environment for such a long time. In the United States penal system, the average length of time that an inmate must wait on death row to be eventually executed has increased substantially ever since execution became an accepted practice. As of 2010, the average waiting time for a death row inmate, between sentencing and the actual execution, was 178 months. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2236)
Unless the chef is a saint, he or she will feel a sense of loathing from those inmates on a daily basis. Yet, he or she still needs to serve the condemned as part of his or her job description.
Back in the “Real” World
After dealing with the daily, arduous duty of the job description, the chef is finally allowed to go home and rest. But can it really be called rest?
Working as a chef who cooks the final meals for death row inmates sparks millions of questions from the people who are supposed to be his or her friends. The constant barrage of questions and comments being thrown in the chef’s face can be unbearable:
“What is it like? Have you met anyone interesting?”
“Oh, my GOD, I could NEVER do that sort of thing! I would absolutely HATE my job!”
“What happens if you just KNOW that one of those...people...is innocent?”
Even the questions and comments which might have been meant to show sympathy or add a bit of light can make the chef feel out of sorts. Prison guards and chefs can become despondent from the stress of dealing with death row itself and its hateful inmates, the confinement of the kitchen, and the job itself. It may feel like a never-ending and ever-growing weight that will just not let up.
Psychological Training
In addition to the usual training for a person to work within the prison system - extensive physical and safety training - a death row chef must undergo psychological training. The damage to the mental health of the chef is clear if psychological training is not taken seriously.
As with former members of any military force who have been to war and seen it firsthand, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a possibility for these valiant chefs if every aspect of their health is not checked, assessed, and treated properly on a regular basis. Though these chefs are not on foreign lands, they still endure frontline battle every day that they are on the job. They are surrounded by prison guards - who were most likely in the military at some point in their lives - carrying heavy-duty guns and other weaponry. They must be escorted through each and every hallway in order to serve the last meals to the inmates. They must be locked inside all day with people - inmates OR guards - who may or may not become violent at any point.
These chefs haven’t committed any crime, but they may rightfully feel like prisoners themselves.
A Firsthand Account
The Guardian published a piece about a man named Brian Price in 2004. Price was exposed to all of these aforementioned hardships and many more because, “For 11 years, Brian Price was the man responsible for preparing the last meal requests in Texas.” Price wrote a book where he covered about his feelings while performing his duties and the emotions he experienced during different interactions. His account confirmed the difficulty of performing this role.
We will never experience the thoughts that go through such a chef’s mind, or understand how those workplace experiences affect that person’s life.
The death penalty has always been a controversial policy that has its backers and haters, and the last meal of the condemned manages to strike a chord with many people as it is a suggestion that those being put to death, no matter their crime, are still human. We put people to death for the terrible crimes they’ve committed, and at the same time feed them the meals they love. It is this irony that will continue to fascinate us all as long as the death penalty is in place.
Hastings Arthur Wise
Hastings Arthur Wise was born on February 16, 1954 and was a convicted U.S. mass murderer who was executed in South Carolina for killing four former coworkers. Wise shot and killed Charles Griffeth, David Moore, Leonard Filya, and Sheryl Wood on September 15, 1997 at the R.E. Phelon Company, which is a manufacturing factory in Aiken, South Carolina.
Wise was a former employee at the company and produced lawnmower parts for the company prior to the workplace shooting. He was an ex-convict who had served prison time for bank robbery and fencing (receiving and selling stolen goods). After his release, he obtained a technical degree and found a job at R.E. Phelon because had no criminal convictions for over a decade before joining the company.
The motives for his crimes and murders are simple, and stem from his termination of employment from the factory following a confrontation with a supervisor weeks earlier. Before the shooting, Wise eerily warned his boss and co-workers that he would “be back.” On September 15, 1997, he returned to the R.E. Phelon factory and opened fire, killing four and injuring three.
Wise was indicted in August 1998 and his trial was delayed because of changes in counsel and the presiding judge. Furthermore, the trial was moved to an adjacent county because of pre-trial publicity. Race also played a role in the trial, since Wise was black.
After conviction, media and external parties asserted that racism played a role in the sentence and verdict. However, Wise, rather unusually, made a request to the state Supreme Court to waive all his further appeals of his death sentence. In fact, he claimed that his second appeal was made against his wishes and that he wished to die. He refused to participate and pursue all his permitted appeals, and Wise became a “volunteer” for execution, who some claim is a sign of mental defect and depression. Ex parte motions to challenge his competency to be executed were filed, since execution of the mentally diminished is (now) illegal in the United States. However, all the motions were rejected and the sentenced stayed.
Wise was convicted and sentenced to death in South Carolina by lethal injection. While at the Broad River Correctional Institution, Wise was granted a final meal request by the prison officials. On the day of his execution, which was Friday, November 4, 2005, Wise requested a final meal of lobster back, coleslaw, and French fries, followed by banana pudding and milk. On November 4, 2005, he was executed by lethal injection and made no final statement before his execution.
Hastings Arthur Wise’s Lobster Back
Any part of a lobster is a delicacy. But the lobster back is where you find the lobster meat that offers the best taste. Also, preparing lobster back is simple, and it should take you a maximum of 10 minutes. This means you can thrill your family members and friends easily by serving them perfect homemade lobster back.
Ingredients:
· 4-6 frozen lobster tails (1-2 per person)
· Butter
· Lemon slices
Preparation:
It's important to defrost the lobster back fully before cooking, even if you feel more comfortable handling frozen lobsters.
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cut the defrosted lobster back, and place them on a baking sheet.
3. Brush each piece with butter.
4. Bake for about 15 minutes, but make sure you don't overcook it as that can leave the end product hard and rubbery.
5. After removing the lobster back from the oven, add melted butter and lemon slices to make it soft and sweet.
While it's advisable to serve cooked lobster back without delay, you can always keep them in your refrigerator for up to two days.
“Death Row” refers to the cordoned-off section of a prison - most likely a maximum-security prison - where the people being detained there have been accused and found guilty of a crime that warrants capital punishment. Not all countries in the world have laws condoning, accepting, or enforcing capital punishment, but if it is an option for sentencing, and the deciding party believes that death is the only rightful consequence for the person being accused, it is possible. The members of that deciding party must consent by a majority to enforce this punishment upon the accused.
Many people refer to and understand the phrase “capital punishment” to mean a death sentence - and they are completely correct. In many different countries, capital punishment is an incredibly sensitive and controversial topic that, if brought up in conversation, can lead to very public and very heated arguments.
Many people have staunch personal opinions on the subject. Not so many people give much thought to those whose job it is to actually cook and deliver a last meal to a death row inmate.
Inside Death Row Kitchens
How can a chef stand to make a meal for a person who was convicted of a crime so abhorrent that it has been deemed right for that person to die?
Just because death row inmates don’t have as many rights as the average person who is still allowed to walk free and live his or her life, the general thought is that those who are incarcerated and awaiting certain death still have the right to privacy, even if it is limited. It may not be widely publicized, but all ethics aside, it is fairly certain that the chef who is responsible for cooking that inmate’s last meal knows exactly the crimes that were committed.
What happens if the chef personally knows someone who has suffered that same crime? What if the chef has actually been a victim of that particular crime? The chef may happen to be a victim of a similar crime that was committed. The chef may have personal knowledge of a victim of a similar type of crime. The chef may even have a close relative - a wife, son, or daughter - who was a victim of the same type of crime. How does the chef cope with the fact that he or she is duty-bound to cook a nourishing meal for a person who willingly hurt another human being - or many other human beings - and will just die soon enough anyway?
Is it immoral for the chef to spit in the inmate’s last meal? Is it immoral for the chef to do something worse to the food, such as undercook it, or do something that makes it taste bad? Would anyone who is in the kitchen with the chef even care which horrible or untoward things are done to that inmate’s last meal?
When we look at these questions in an objective sense, the majority of people would most likely feel some sort of remorse or guilt if they did anything like that to another human being’s very last meal. However, the chef is around those death row inmates for the majority of the day. The inmates are not going to be kind or civil to anyone who keeps them locked up and in constant confinement day in and day out, whether they are guilty or not.
Inmates may start their death row sentence with the best of intentions, in order to atone for the crime or crimes committed, but no human being can stay completely positive in such a horrible environment for such a long time. In the United States penal system, the average length of time that an inmate must wait on death row to be eventually executed has increased substantially ever since execution became an accepted practice. As of 2010, the average waiting time for a death row inmate, between sentencing and the actual execution, was 178 months. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2236)
Unless the chef is a saint, he or she will feel a sense of loathing from those inmates on a daily basis. Yet, he or she still needs to serve the condemned as part of his or her job description.
Back in the “Real” World
After dealing with the daily, arduous duty of the job description, the chef is finally allowed to go home and rest. But can it really be called rest?
Working as a chef who cooks the final meals for death row inmates sparks millions of questions from the people who are supposed to be his or her friends. The constant barrage of questions and comments being thrown in the chef’s face can be unbearable:
“What is it like? Have you met anyone interesting?”
“Oh, my GOD, I could NEVER do that sort of thing! I would absolutely HATE my job!”
“What happens if you just KNOW that one of those...people...is innocent?”
Even the questions and comments which might have been meant to show sympathy or add a bit of light can make the chef feel out of sorts. Prison guards and chefs can become despondent from the stress of dealing with death row itself and its hateful inmates, the confinement of the kitchen, and the job itself. It may feel like a never-ending and ever-growing weight that will just not let up.
Psychological Training
In addition to the usual training for a person to work within the prison system - extensive physical and safety training - a death row chef must undergo psychological training. The damage to the mental health of the chef is clear if psychological training is not taken seriously.
As with former members of any military force who have been to war and seen it firsthand, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a possibility for these valiant chefs if every aspect of their health is not checked, assessed, and treated properly on a regular basis. Though these chefs are not on foreign lands, they still endure frontline battle every day that they are on the job. They are surrounded by prison guards - who were most likely in the military at some point in their lives - carrying heavy-duty guns and other weaponry. They must be escorted through each and every hallway in order to serve the last meals to the inmates. They must be locked inside all day with people - inmates OR guards - who may or may not become violent at any point.
These chefs haven’t committed any crime, but they may rightfully feel like prisoners themselves.
A Firsthand Account
The Guardian published a piece about a man named Brian Price in 2004. Price was exposed to all of these aforementioned hardships and many more because, “For 11 years, Brian Price was the man responsible for preparing the last meal requests in Texas.” Price wrote a book where he covered about his feelings while performing his duties and the emotions he experienced during different interactions. His account confirmed the difficulty of performing this role.
We will never experience the thoughts that go through such a chef’s mind, or understand how those workplace experiences affect that person’s life.
The death penalty has always been a controversial policy that has its backers and haters, and the last meal of the condemned manages to strike a chord with many people as it is a suggestion that those being put to death, no matter their crime, are still human. We put people to death for the terrible crimes they’ve committed, and at the same time feed them the meals they love. It is this irony that will continue to fascinate us all as long as the death penalty is in place.
Hastings Arthur Wise
Hastings Arthur Wise was born on February 16, 1954 and was a convicted U.S. mass murderer who was executed in South Carolina for killing four former coworkers. Wise shot and killed Charles Griffeth, David Moore, Leonard Filya, and Sheryl Wood on September 15, 1997 at the R.E. Phelon Company, which is a manufacturing factory in Aiken, South Carolina.
Wise was a former employee at the company and produced lawnmower parts for the company prior to the workplace shooting. He was an ex-convict who had served prison time for bank robbery and fencing (receiving and selling stolen goods). After his release, he obtained a technical degree and found a job at R.E. Phelon because had no criminal convictions for over a decade before joining the company.
The motives for his crimes and murders are simple, and stem from his termination of employment from the factory following a confrontation with a supervisor weeks earlier. Before the shooting, Wise eerily warned his boss and co-workers that he would “be back.” On September 15, 1997, he returned to the R.E. Phelon factory and opened fire, killing four and injuring three.
Wise was indicted in August 1998 and his trial was delayed because of changes in counsel and the presiding judge. Furthermore, the trial was moved to an adjacent county because of pre-trial publicity. Race also played a role in the trial, since Wise was black.
After conviction, media and external parties asserted that racism played a role in the sentence and verdict. However, Wise, rather unusually, made a request to the state Supreme Court to waive all his further appeals of his death sentence. In fact, he claimed that his second appeal was made against his wishes and that he wished to die. He refused to participate and pursue all his permitted appeals, and Wise became a “volunteer” for execution, who some claim is a sign of mental defect and depression. Ex parte motions to challenge his competency to be executed were filed, since execution of the mentally diminished is (now) illegal in the United States. However, all the motions were rejected and the sentenced stayed.
Wise was convicted and sentenced to death in South Carolina by lethal injection. While at the Broad River Correctional Institution, Wise was granted a final meal request by the prison officials. On the day of his execution, which was Friday, November 4, 2005, Wise requested a final meal of lobster back, coleslaw, and French fries, followed by banana pudding and milk. On November 4, 2005, he was executed by lethal injection and made no final statement before his execution.
Hastings Arthur Wise’s Lobster Back
Any part of a lobster is a delicacy. But the lobster back is where you find the lobster meat that offers the best taste. Also, preparing lobster back is simple, and it should take you a maximum of 10 minutes. This means you can thrill your family members and friends easily by serving them perfect homemade lobster back.
Ingredients:
· 4-6 frozen lobster tails (1-2 per person)
· Butter
· Lemon slices
Preparation:
It's important to defrost the lobster back fully before cooking, even if you feel more comfortable handling frozen lobsters.
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cut the defrosted lobster back, and place them on a baking sheet.
3. Brush each piece with butter.
4. Bake for about 15 minutes, but make sure you don't overcook it as that can leave the end product hard and rubbery.
5. After removing the lobster back from the oven, add melted butter and lemon slices to make it soft and sweet.
While it's advisable to serve cooked lobster back without delay, you can always keep them in your refrigerator for up to two days.
