Death row inmates in Texas are no longer allowed to select a special final meal before execution — a long-standing tradition that came to an abrupt end following one inmate’s controversial request.
The crime that changed the rule
For years, the idea of choosing a “last meal” has sparked curiosity. If someone knew their life was about to end, what would they choose to eat? A favorite childhood dish? A lavish steak dinner? A towering burger?
In Texas, however, that ritual is now a thing of the past.
Historically, most U.S. states permitted condemned prisoners to request a final meal before execution. While considered a courtesy rather than a legal entitlement, the tradition often carried symbolic or emotional significance. Some states imposed spending caps or menu restrictions, and a few had already phased out the practice quietly.
The custom itself dates back centuries, with roots in ancient civilizations such as Rome, Greece, and China. It was once believed that granting a final meal could prevent the spirit of the condemned from returning to haunt the living.
But in 2011, one case permanently altered the practice in Texas.
A brutal murder that shocked America
Lawrence Russell Brewer, a white supremacist, was convicted alongside Shawn Berry and John King for the horrific 1998 killing of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas.
The three men attacked Byrd, beat him, urinated on him, and spray-painted his face. They then chained him to a Ford pickup truck and dragged him along a paved road for three miles (5 kilometers). Byrd remained conscious for much of the ordeal. He was killed when his body struck the edge of a culvert, an impact that severed his right arm and head.
Brewer and King became the first white men in modern Texas to receive the death penalty for murdering a Black man. Berry was sentenced to life in prison. The killing became one of the most notorious racially motivated crimes in modern U.S. history.
The case also prompted legislative change. In 2009, under President Barack Obama, Congress passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, expanding federal authority to prosecute crimes motivated by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other protected characteristics.
The final meal request that ended a tradition
Ahead of his execution in 2011, Brewer was asked to submit his final meal request.
In Texas, typical last meals included steak, burgers, or breakfast staples. Some inmates declined the privilege entirely.
Brewer’s request, however, stood out for its scale. According to the Houston Chronicle, he asked for chicken-fried steaks, fried okra with ketchup, a cheese omelet packed with ground beef, jalapeños, and bell peppers, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas, a pound of barbecue, half a loaf of white bread, and a “meat lover’s special” pizza.
He also requested a pint of Blue Bell “homemade vanilla” ice cream, a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts, and three root beers.
Prison staff prepared the extensive meal. But when it was delivered, Brewer declined to eat any of it, stating he was not hungry. The food was ultimately thrown away.
The move triggered backlash from Texas Senator John Whitmire, who decided to eliminate the tradition altogether. In a letter to then–prison chief Brad Livingston, Whitmire wrote:
“It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. I have yielded to TDCJ judgment in the past, but now enough is enough.”
He added:
“This old boy last night, enough is enough. We’re fixing to execute the guy and maybe it makes the system feel good about what they’re fixing to do. Kind of hypocritical, you reckon?”
As a result, death row inmates in Texas now receive only the regular meal served in the Huntsville Unit cafeteria on the day they are executed.
However, Whitmire’s decision wasn’t without controversy. Prison reform advocate Ray Hill defended the tradition of last meals, calling it “cruel and extremely unusual” to end a practice so deeply rooted in Texas history.
Brian Price, a Crockett restaurant owner and former death row “chef,” argued that Senator Whitmire’s complaints were overblown.
“They only get items in the commissary kitchen,” Price explained. “If they order lobster, they get a piece of frozen pollack. They quit serving steaks in 1994. If they order 100 tacos, they get two or three. … Whitmire’s just getting on a political soapbox.”
Having prepared over 200 last meals for condemned inmates, Price — author of the prison cookbook Meals to Die For — made it clear that the reality of last meals is far less extravagant than the public imagines.
Lawrence Brewer was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead on September 21, 2011, in Huntsville, Texas, according to Michelle Lyons of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He had no final words.
What do you think about this? Was it right for Texas to end the tradition of last meal requests for death row inmates? Drop your opinions in the comments.
