What Would be YOUR Last Meal on Death Row?

Earlier this week, I came across an article on Buzzfeed listing the last meals of twelve infamous, and not so infamous, death row inmates. With pictures! The macabre side of me that writes psychological thrillers found it utterly fascinating. I also thought it interesting that so many of the prisoners chose fried chicken, but I digress.

John Wayne Gacy, “The Killer Clown”, had managed three KFC restaurants in his lifetime (you know, when he wasn’t being a homicidal perve) and he asked for a bucket of KFC original recipe chicken AND a dozen fried shrimp to go with his strawberries and shoestring French fries (I guess he didn’t care for KFC’s potato wedges…). Timothy McVeigh, the homegrown terrorist responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, just wanted a big-ass bowl of ice cream. My kind of guy, except for the blowing-up-a-building-full-of-innocent-people part. Victor Figuer, on the other hand, chose a single olive, with the pit still intact. Why? He’d hoped it would grow into an olive tree from within his body and use him as a symbol of peace. Alrighty then, Vic. Unfortunately, he’s more famous for kidnapping and murder and being the last federal inmate executed in the United States than he is for his extension of olive branches or Zen-like desire for world peace.

Reading about the different inmates and their last desires made me wonder what my own last meal would be, if I was as ruthless as the characters in my writing. I think I would ask for a rib eye steak cooked medium-rare. (I know, the chef’s recommendation for that cut is medium, but it would be my last meal. Gimme a break, guys.) To go with my steak, I would go ‘all Timothy McVeigh’ to satisfy my sweet tooth one last time. I’m thinking a whole spread, comparable to the dessert bar at my wedding. I’d want layer cake and eclairs, truffles and tiramisu, soft iced sugar cookies and Cadbury crème eggs, and…seriously I could keep going, but I won’t.

What about my characters? Lyla, Jillian, and Brighthouse from my Blood for Blood Series? When I was done drooling over the thought of my own diabetes-inducing last meal, I started to wonder what their last meals would be. In Blood in the Past it’s mentioned that Lyla took kickboxing and Tae-bo with her mother. I imagined them going out for some light, refreshing sushi afterward and I immediately knew that’s what Lyla would ask for, since everything she does circles back to the loss of her mother. (I’m sure she’d also want a six-pack of ice-cold beer to go with it, but that’s probably not allowed.) Jillian would either refuse a meal entirely or opt to order the favorite meal of her lost love, Calvin Kyle: a Philly cheese steak from Ishkabibbles on South Street. (I imagine she’d also ask for an adult beverage, probably wine.) Brighthouse…hmm. I honestly can’t imagine Brighthouse being in a situation where he has to choose a last meal, but I think he’d be one of the fried chicken people. 🙂

What about you? What about your characters? Share your thoughts below in the comments section!