Texas | Man ordered final death row meal so controversial that no one gets one anymore

As well as listing off five people we wouldn't mind getting stuck in a lift with if it ever came to it, we've all debated what we would have for our last ever meal on Earth.

These imaginary scenarios help us kill a bit of time during long journeys, or can reignite the conversation if it gets a bit stale.

But for death row inmates, fantasising about their final feast isn't just a fun and fictitious pastime - it's something they actually have to decide on before they face their fate.

Unless they are locked up in Texas, that is, as the US state no longer offers prisoners this privilege thanks to the actions of one convict 14 years ago.

Because of Lawrence Russell Brewer's brazen behaviour ahead of his execution in September 2011, death row inmates who are incarcerated in Texas no longer get to leave this world with a belly full of their favourite food.

Now, it's more of a case of them getting what they're given. Nice one, Brewer.

Who was Lawrence Russell Brewer?

Apart from being the bloke who tanked the 87-year tradition of inmates deciding on their final dinner, Lawrence Russell Brewer is also a convicted murderer.

The 44-year-old was a white supremacist who, alongside accomplices John King and Shawn Berry, was convicted for the appalling racially-motivated murder of James Byrd Jr, 49, in June 1998.

Brewer and King became the first white men to receive the death penalty for killing a black man in modern Texas after their conviction, and their atrocities prompted the state to introduce new laws surrounding hate crimes.

Berry was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Brewer spent the 12-years behind bars awaiting his execution.

What was his order?

On 21 September, 2011, Brewer was executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville.

The day before he was put to death, he did not express any remorse for James' murder and chillingly told KHOU 11 News: "As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets. No, I'd do it all over again, to tell you the truth."

Photo: Last Suppers: A series of photographs documenting former Death Row prisoners' requests for their last meal before execution, by James Reynolds

Although you might not think he deserved it, Brewer was able to request a range of items for his final meal, like every other death row prisoner in Texas was able to up until 2011.

The murderer didn't hold back, making a mammoth order which included a bowl of fried okra with ketchup, two chicken steaks with gravy and onions, and a cheese omelette with ground beef, jalapenos and bell peppers.

But he didn't stop there, according to a report from the time published in the Houston Chronicle.

On top of that, Brewer also wanted a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas, one pound of barbecue and a half loaf of white bread, pizza meat lover's special, one pint of 'homemade vanilla' Blue Bell ice cream, one slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts, and three root beers.

Why was it so controversial?

Brewer's decadent banquet arrived at the prison at around 4pm on the day of his execution. But when it was placed in front of him, he refused to eat any of it - saying he was not hungry.

So, his huge order was instead chucked into the bin, which left prison officials with a bad taste in their mouth, to say the least.

Texas senator John Whitmire really didn't take the huge waste lightly - and he urged state prison officials to end the nearly 90-year-old tradition of offering a last meal choice to condemned inmates.

The Democrat, who is now Houston's mayor, believed that it was 'inappropriate' to allow death row prisoners to tantalise their tastebuds before facing the music for their crimes.

"Enough is enough," Whitmire said at the time. "It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. It's a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim."

The executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Brad Livingston, agreed and the tradition was then abolished.

What do Texas inmates now get given?

Since 2011, death row inmates in Texas have been dreaming of being able to decadent order comparable to Brewer's.

Photo: Last Suppers: A series of photographs documenting former Death Row prisoners' requests for their last meal before execution, by James Reynolds

Sadly, he spoiled it for everyone else - however, prisoners in the state do still get fed before their execution.

But now, a con will simply receive whatever is being served in the prison that day for their final ever meal, rather than the grub they've been dreaming of throughout their sentence. 

What did officials say at the time?

Senator Whitmire had plenty to say about scrapping the tradition, as he explained that he wanted to make it clear to those on death row that they aren't the ones who hold the cards.

"[Brewer's] a bad person and it might very well be as simple as he was just trying to show us... he would just show us that we couldn't control things right up to the end," he told news channel KXAN in 2011.

"Why didn't someone use some judgment and put that to a stop? Can you imagine the victim's family - who were there to witness the execution - knowing that this killer of their brother was getting these kind of special treatments? It's just wrong and it will - it has - ended."

Whitmire also explained that it wasn't the cost of catering to the inmates requests which prompted the decision - it was simply a matter of principle.

The 75-year-old said, as per the New York Times: "He never gave his victim an opportunity for a last meal.

"Why in the world are you going to treat him like a celebrity two hours before you execute him? It’s wrong to treat a vicious murderer in this fashion. Let him eat the same meal on the chow line as the others."

NB: The views and opinions expressed in the above piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of  DPN.

Source: ladbible.com, Joe Harker, June 1, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde