Artist recreates Death Row last suppers

[luke]

A bowl of fruit, fried chicken and chips, a packet of cigarettes and a single olive: Artist recreates Death Row last suppers

As a work of art, it's about as avante-garde as it gets.

A British artist has recreated a series of bizarre last meals chosen by actual death row prisoners on the day before their execution.

James Reynolds filled orange prison-issue trays with some of the most unusual items the murderers asked for - like a single black olive or an onion and two bottles of coke.


Last call: James Reynold, 23, has put together and artwork based on the final meals of death row convicts on standard prison issue plates

Another inmate requested fast food from KFC while another asked for an array of fruit including a pineapple, a mango and a coconut.

One of 23-year-old James's creations, dubbed 'Last Suppers', shows a tray loaded with six raw eggs, a bread roll and a cup of coffee.

And another prisoner asked for a single doughnut and a chocolate milkshake.

James, from London, got the idea for his collection after reading a book that listed some American death row inmates' final meal choices.

He quickly set about finding out more about each prisoner including what crime they committed, where they were incarcerated and exactly what they asked for.

He found they were allowed anything to eat up to a $40 limit.

James, who works for an advertising agency, said: 'I found the list of some of the things that inmates had chosen in Schott's Food Miscellany.

'I was fascinated by why they were chosen and by who.


Prisoners were allowed anything as long as it cost less than $40 - hence the pack of cigarettes, left, and another request for a single doughnut and a milkshake

'I think the choices made by the prisoners reflect their personalities and their mindset before their death.

'It's interesting to think about why they chose certain meals.

'Did they choose the meal because that's what they had missed most while being in prison, or did it remind them of happier times or childhood meals?

'Or was it just what they felt like at the time? Many inmates rejected the offer of a last meal, as they probably had other things on their mind.'

The 23-year-old said most of the meals requested by the inmates were fast food staples like McDonalds, KFC or Burger King.

But some requested more interesting items like an unpitted olive or a cream cracker.

James said: 'Burgers, French fries, Coca-Cola, McDonalds and KFC are the most common but I found the slightly more unusual meals much more intriguing.

'Inmates are allowed a meal allowance of up to $40 and almost anything is permitted within this budget.


Pictured: This final meal included a single cream cracker, plus bottles of fizzy drink to wash it down.

'The meal can be bought either at the prison canteen or from a nearby outside source.

'Some inmates chose packets of paracetamol, painkillers and even a gun but their requests were rejected.'

The artist went one step further and found out more about the inmates who had requested the more unusual items.

Victor Feguer, put to death for murder in Iowa in 1963, asked for the olive for his last meal.

The array of fruit was the last request of Louis Jones Jr, who was executed for kidnap, rape and murder in Indiana, in 2003.

Lewis Gilbert asked for two tubs of ice cream before being put to death for murder in Oklahoma, in 2003.

The single onion was requested by Jackie Barron Wilson before he was executed for rape and murder in Texas, in 2006.

One of the most bizarre requests was made by James Hudson - a single cream cracker and six bottles of Coca Cola before he died in Virginia, in 2004.


The single onion was requested by Jackie Barron Wilson before executed for rape and murder, and Lewis Gilbert asked for two tubs of ice-cream before being put to death for murder

James said he tried to find out the inmates' reasons for choosing what they did but could only find an explanation for the olive choice.

He said: 'Victor Feguer asked for an unpitted olive because he thought it might grow into an olive tree from inside him.

'It was supposed to be symbol of peace.'

James said he found authentic trays to use for his pieces from an online retailer.

The Pall Mall cigarettes and a box of matches were requested by Eddie Lee Mays who was being executed for murder and robbery at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York in 1963.

Mays, who was the last person to be executed by in the state of New York, was convicted of murdering 31-year-old Maria Marini in a bar.

John Wayne Gacy ordered the KFC as his last meal before he was executed at the age of 52 in 1994, at the Stateville Correctional Center, in Illinois.

Between 1972 and 1978 Gacy raped and murdered at least 33 young men and boys.


Victor Feguer, put to death in 1963, asked for one unpitted olive because 'he thought it might grow into an olive tree from inside him'.

He became known as 'Killer Clown' because of the popular block parties he would throw for his friends and neighbours, entertaining children in a clown suit and makeup, and calling himself 'Pogo the Clown'.

His former wife Marlynn's parents owned a series of KFC restaurants and made Gacy manager of the branch in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1965.

Former Special Forces soldier Staff Sergeant Louis Jones Jr requested an array of fruit before being put to death for the kidnap, rape and murder of fellow soldier Private Tracie McBride.

Jones, who was in the military for 22 years, kidnapped 19-year-old Ms McBride from a base in Texas in 1995 and took her to his house where he raped her.

He then took her to a secluded spot and beat her to death with a tyre iron. He was executed in Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex, Indiana, in 2003.

Lewis Gilbert was given a lethal cocktail of drugs at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 2003 after being convicted of murdering security guard Roxanne Ruddell and elderly William and Flossie Brewer.

As his last meal he requested ice cream and some empty cones.

Jackie Barron Wilson was killed by lethal injection at Texas State Penitentiary, in 2006.


The array of fruit was the last request of Louis Jones Jr, executed for kidnap, rape and murder, while most inmates opted for a meal from KFC or McDonalds

Wilson, who was convicted of raping and murdering five-year-old Maggie Rhodes, asked for a single onion as his last meal.

Thomas Treshawn Ivey requested a donut and a chocolate milkshake before being executed for killing a businessman and a police sergeant in 1993.

Ivey, 34, was given a lethal injection at Broad River Correctional Institution, South Carolina, in 2006.

James Hudson asked for a single cream cracker as his last meal before being put to death in Greensville Correctional Center, Virginia, in 2004.

Hudson murdered 64-year-old couple Patsy and Thomas Cole with a shotgun and also shot Thomas' brother Walter, 56, with the same weapon in 2002.

Gary Mark Gilmore gained international notoriety for demanding that his death sentence be fulfilled following two murders he committed in Utah.

The 36-year-old asked for some eggs before his execution by firing squad at Utah State Prison, in 1977, for robbery and murder.

Gilmore's story was the inspiration for the 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'The Executioner's Song'.

The book was turned into a TV movie in 1982 in which Tommy Lee Jones starred as Gilmore.

from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243930/A-bowl-fruit-fried-chicken-chips-packet-cigarettes-single-olive-Artist-recreates-Death-Row-suppers.html

i think my last meal would have to be a full english, or a roast

what would yours be?

[faceless]

If I knew it was going to become shit art, I'd ask for an array of dog turds arranged in the shape of this 'artist's' face.

[luke]

haha yeah, as art, its shite, but its interesting to see their choices

a raw onion?! 6 raw eggs?! you could have seal steaks or roasted panda!

[Skylace]

Roasted panda is only $40! Wow ;)

[luke]

you might get a paw or an ear for that money

[funkyfunkpants]

a fry up for me

[SquareEyes]

This isn't art. In fact, it's everything I hate about artless tossers claiming they are artists. Paint me a moving picture of a guy eating his last meal. Don't stick the ingredients on a plastic tray and expect respect from me.

[SpursFan1902]

I agree with Luke, not really good art, but interesting information. A serious case of the research being more interesting than the final product. I don't know what I would ask for. A full english is right up there, but I might also as for 40 bucks worth of movie popcorn with butter...I am just glad I don't have to make the choice.