15 Notorious Serial Killers Last Meals (2023)

FAQs

What serial killers ate as their last meal? ›

Included in the impressive list were 20 tacos, two kinds of ice cream, 20 enchiladas, two double cheeseburgers, fried chicken, pizza, and — perhaps the weirdest of all — a fruitcake.

James Edward Smith, The Texas killer they put to death in June 1990, wins the prize for one of the oddest last meal requests: a clump of dirt. Because dirt was not on the list of approved foods provided by prison officials, they denied Smith's request and gave him yogurt instead.

March 15, 1963

For his last meal, Feguer requested a single olive with the pit still in it. He told guards he hoped an olive tree would sprout from his grave "as a sign of peace".

On January 23, 1978, Chase broke into a house and shot Teresa Wallin (three months pregnant at the time) three times. He then had sexual intercourse with her corpse while stabbing her with a butcher's knife. He then removed multiple organs, cut off one of her nipples and drank her blood.

They're on death row, and according to long-standing tradition on death rows almost everywhere, they can ask for virtually anything they want for dinner on the night before their execution -- and, within reason, they're likely to get it. (In California, for example, there's a $50 limit on an inmate's last meal.)

Years ago, a Texas inmate even requested dirt for his final meal. Until 2003, the Texas prison system listed final meals of each prisoner as part of its death row website. That stopped at 313 final meals after officials said they received complaints from people who found it offensive.

Often, death row inmates choose pies, and I've included a variety in the cookbook. Fried chicken and chicken fried steak, which are popular southern dishes, were also common among last meals. But ice cream and milkshakes topped the list. Almost every person, if they requested dessert, wanted some type of ice cream.

And as a ritual, the last meal is intended not to comfort the condemned but to soften for society the harsh fact that a human is about to be killed with the law's full sanction, says Jon Sheldon, a Virginia death penalty lawyer.

Prisoners usually submit their final meal request a couple of days before their execution date. The request is passed along to the prison's chef—often a prisoner himself—who then prepares the meal.

What started the last meal on death row? ›

"The Puritans of Massachusetts once held grand feasts for the condemned, believing it emulated the Last Supper of Christ, representing a communal atonement for the community and the prisoner," read a portion of the paper.

Ronnie Lee Gardner

He was sentenced to death for burglary, robbery, and two counts of murder. For his last meal, Gardner requested steak, a lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and to eat it all while watching the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Joseph Roy Metheny (March 2, 1955 – August 5, 2017) was an American serial killer and rapist from the Baltimore, Maryland area. While he claimed to have killed 13 people, sufficient evidence was only found to convict him of two murders. Research later confirmed 3 more victims, though he had not been charged with them.

Larry Hall was born as a twin in Wabash, Indiana on December 11, 1962, to parents Robert Hall, a cemetery worker, and Aera Hall, a homemaker. He spent his first few days in a neonatal intensive care unit due to lack of oxygen after his twin brother Gary "fed on him in the womb" in a monochorionic pregnancy.

Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1993) Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)

before his death by l3thal injection. he requested lobster tail, butterfly shrimp, baked potato.

What is death row meal? ›

Inmates are given sporks with their meals, and they eat from the provided tray. Before execution, an inmate may request a last meal. To avoid extravagance, the food to prepare the last meal must cost no more than $40 and must be purchased locally.

In capital punishment, a volunteer is a prisoner who wishes to be sentenced to death. Often, volunteers will waive all appeals in an attempt to expedite the sentence. In the United States, execution volunteers constitute approximately 10% of prisoners on death row.

Since then, death row inmates eat their last meal from the prison's daily menu, the same as every inmate. Texas is the only state that does not honor any special requests from death row inmates.

By starting at midnight, it gives the full 24 hours to work through potential temporary stays of execution, if any, before the time slot has ended and a new death warrant must be procured. That said, perhaps more importantly, and a reason cited by many a prison official, is simply the matter of staffing.

The death penalty is still legal in California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, but there are gubernatorial moratoriums on executions in these three states. Texas leads the nation in the number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

As a general rule of thumb, nutritionists will tell you to wait about three hours to sleep after eating. For example, if you have dinner at 6 p.m., try to wait to go to sleep until 9 p.m. This allows some digestion to occur and gives time for the contents of your stomach to move into your small intestine.

You should eat dinner approximately four to five hours after eating lunch. If that falls in the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. window, you hit the last hour of your body's heightened metabolic rate before it starts to slow. Keep in mind that the longer you give your body between your last meal and your bedtime, the better.

The last prisoner to be executed in Florida, Louis Bernard Gaskin woke up at 4:45 a.m. April 12 and had his last meal at 9:45 a.m. The meal included BBQ pork ribs, pork and turkey neck, Buffalo wings, shrimp fried rice, french fries and water.

Lethal injection causes severe pain and severe respiratory distress with associated sensations of drowning, asphyxiation, panic, and terror in the overwhelming majority of cases, a new report from NPR found.

To make escape more difficult, prison uniforms in the United States often consist of a distinctive orange jumpsuit with short sleeves or set of scrubs with a white T-shirt underneath, as it is difficult for an escaped inmate to avoid recognition and recapture in such distinctive attire.

Is the electric chair painful? ›

Death by electrocution was believed to be quick and painless. Today, after 4,300 electrocutions, death by electric chair can no longer be called an unusual punishment.

A spread is a prison meal made by inmates. Spreads are often made with commissary ingredients, such as instant ramen and corn puffs. Spreads can be simple meals, or elaborate and inventive combinations of ingredients.

The federal prison system operates a shop called the inmate commissary, where prisoners can purchase various foods, clothing, and other items.

When European settlers came to the new world, they brought the practice of capital punishment. The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain.

Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, murdered 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Following his arrest, he told police that he had cut up the thighs, biceps, and internal organs of three of his victims and cooked them in a stovetop skillet before consuming them.

Prior to their dissection, Nilsen removed their internal organs, which he disposed of either beside a fence behind his flat or close to Gladstone Park. The victims killed in 1982 and 1983 at his Muswell Hill residence were retained at his flat, with their flesh and smaller bones flushed down the lavatory.

Last meals are one of the most famous death row traditions, but one inmate decided that he was not hungry in the lead up to his execution. Kevin Johnson, 37, who faced the death penalty for murdering a police officer, declined his last meal and offered 'no comment' when given the opportunity to say his last words.

The most prolific modern serial killer is arguably doctor Harold Shipman, with 218 probable murders and possibly as many as 250 (see "Medical professionals", below). However, he was actually convicted of a sample of 15 murders.

Who is the most mysterious serial killer? ›

But who was Dennis Nilsen, the man who killed 15 men, and how were his shocking crimes committed? Here's the true story behind the man also known as the 'kindly killer'.

On July 26, 1984, Ed Gein, a serial killer infamous for skinning human corpses, dies of complications from cancer in a Wisconsin prison at age 77.

Until 2003, the Texas prison system listed final meals of each prisoner as part of its death row website. That stopped at 313 final meals after officials said they received complaints from people who found it offensive.

In some countries, alcohol and cigarettes have been offered as part of a last meal, but those items are usually not allowed in the United States. In fact, some states don't accept special requests for a last meal; the condemned gets what is on the prison menu.

Inmates are given sporks with their meals, and they eat from the provided tray. Before execution, an inmate may request a last meal. To avoid extravagance, the food to prepare the last meal must cost no more than $40 and must be purchased locally.