Death row murderer did not get to choose a lavish final meal before being executed

He has one person to blame for the fact he didn’t get a death row meal…

There was a break in tradition in the US this week after a prisoner on death row who was executed more than 10 years after being convicted of murder was not granted his final meal.

In 2009, John Henry Ramirez was sentenced to death for the murder of Pablo Castro, who he killed for just $1.25 (£1.11) during a violent robbery in 2004.

The 38-year-old was killed by lethal injection at Huntsville State Penitentiary in Texas on Wednesday (5 October).

But unlike most on death row, he was not granted a final meal of his choice.

It’s common knowledge that prior to their execution, prisoners are able to request a last meal of their choosing. The idea of a “death row meal” has always fascinated many and it’s almost certainly something you’ve theorised over yourself or debated with mates.

Some of the most famous death row dinners include  John Wayne Gacy’s bucket of KFC chicken, with 12 fried prawns, a pound of strawberries, French fries and a Diet Coke, and  Timothy McVeigh’s two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Ramirez on the other hand was never afforded the same right, due to Texas state laws which state that inmates are not allowed to choose a final meal.

Instead, they are treated to whatever food is on the menu in the prison.

Texas prisoners have one person to blame for this: Lawrence Russell Brewer.

The white-supremacist murderer was sentenced to death for killing James Byrd Jr. by dragging him along behind a pick-up truck for three miles along a road.

When his execution date came, he ordered a lavish meal of a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger; three fajitas; a meat feast pizza; one pound of barbecued meat; a half loaf of white bread; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream; one slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

But when this was served to him, he didn’t touch any of it, simply saying he wasn’t hungry.

This prompted Texas senator John Whitmire to bring the 87-year-old tradition to an end, ordering everyone on death row to eat what everyone else ate.

Ramirez was granted one request though, and that was for a priest to be present and praying during his execution.

Having initially been denied this request, the Supreme Court ruled that to not let Ramirez have a priest present would have been a violation of his rights under the First Amendment.