Top 15 Last Meals of Famous Death Row Inmates Worldwide

Christopher Eugene Brooks was executed in Alabama for the 1992 murder of Jo Deann Campbell, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal for a stay of execution. Brooks was the 57th inmate to be executed in Alabama since the resumption of executions in 1983, and the first since 2013. Prosecutors stated that Campbell had allowed Brooks to stay at her apartment in Homewood on the night of December 30, 1992, after he appeared at the restaurant where she worked. The following day, police found Campbell's naked body under the bed in her apartment in the suburbs of Homewood, Birmingham. Court records show that Brooks' bloody fingerprints were found on the bedroom door handle. Despite this evidence, Brooks maintained his innocence until the end. On the day of his execution, he was offered a breakfast but chose not to eat. After visiting with friends, attorneys, and spiritual advisors, he requested his final meal. His request was simple, unlike many others' extravagant meals. He asked for two cups of peanut butter and a can of Dr. Pepper to drink.

Ronnie Threadgill, 40, was the third inmate to be executed in Texas in 2013. He was injected with lethal drugs less than two hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal. Threadgill had argued that he lacked proper legal representation during his 2002 murder trial. He was convicted for the murder of 17-year-old Dexter McDonald during a carjacking outside a club. His attorneys failed to convince the court that his case warranted reconsideration due to inadequate legal defense during the trial that led to his death sentence.

It is said that all individuals sentenced to death deserve a final meal. For his last request, Threadgill asked for roasted chicken, mashed potatoes with country gravy, vegetables, sweet beans, bread, tea, water, and alcohol. However, Texas had abolished special last meal requests in 2011, so Threadgill was served the same meal as other inmates in his unit. Before his execution, Ronnie Threadgill nodded to a female friend standing a few feet away behind a glass window, flashing a wide smile with his golden teeth. He was pronounced dead 25 minutes later at 6:39 PM.

Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian-American anarchists convicted of murder in Massachusetts during the 1920s. After hours of deliberation on July 14, 1921, the jury found Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti guilty of first-degree murder, and they were sentenced to death by electrocution. Despite claims of innocence and conflicting evidence throughout the trial, the two men were convicted and sentenced to death. The case involved retracted testimonies, contradictory evidence, biased statements, and confessions from another alleged accomplice.

Sadly, all appeals were rejected, and the state of Massachusetts stood firm in its decision. In 1977, the governor of Massachusetts declared that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unjustly tried and sentenced. Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed by electric chair in Massachusetts at ages 36 and 39, respectively. For their last meal, Sacco and Vanzetti requested soup, tea, meat, and toast.

Teresa Lewis was executed by lethal injection in Virginia at the age of 41. She was convicted of the murders of her husband and stepson. She became the first woman to be executed by lethal injection in Virginia in nearly a century. In 2002, Lewis met 21-year-old Matthew Shallenberger and 19-year-old Rodney Fuller at Wal-Mart and began relationships with both while still married. Together, they plotted to murder her husband and stepson for insurance money.

That night, Shallenberger and Fuller entered the car with Lewis as she waited in the kitchen. Shallenberger shot her sleeping husband multiple times, while Fuller entered the bedroom and shot him again. Before the court made its final decision, Lewis’s supporters, who argued she had an intellectual disability, uploaded a recording of her singing the gospel song "I Need a Miracle" to a website. As the recording played, images of Lewis and her daughter flickered on the screen. However, victims’ rights advocates rejected her appeal. All three were arrested, and Lewis was sentenced to death. For her last meal, she requested fried chicken, buttered peas, apple pie, and Dr. Pepper.

Allen Lee "Tiny" Davis was a notorious American serial killer executed in 1982 for the brutal murder of Nancy Weiler, who was three months pregnant at the time. Reports revealed that Weiler’s face and head had been beaten beyond recognition, with Davis striking her more than 25 times. Davis was also convicted for the murder of Weiler’s two daughters, Kristina, 9, and Katherine, 5. The young girls were shot, and Katherine’s skull was crushed with a blunt object. He was sentenced to death for robbery and three counts of murder.

His electrocution drew national attention when photographs of his bloodied face, following the electrocution, were released to the public. In addition, Davis suffered burns to his head, legs, and groin, sparking debates over the cruelty of the electric chair as a form of punishment. After his execution, all subsequent executions were carried out by lethal injection. For his final meal, Davis requested lobster tail, French fries, half a pound of shrimp, 6 ounces of fried clams, half a loaf of garlic bread, and 32 ounces of A&W root beer.

Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history, was executed at the age of 43. He was convicted for the brutal rape and murder of several young women, including desecrating the corpses of some victims. Bundy was known for his charming and good-looking demeanor, which he used to gain the trust of his victims before luring them to isolated locations and killing them.

Bundy had a disturbing habit of revisiting crime scenes and even sexually assaulted the decaying bodies of his victims. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1989 by the electric chair. Bundy once described himself as “the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you’ll ever meet.” Even his defense lawyer, Polly Nelson, wrote that Bundy “was the definition of heartless evil.” Bundy declined a special last meal request, and instead, he was given the traditional last meal: a medium-rare steak, fried eggs, French fries, buttered toast with jam, milk, and fruit juice.

Ronnie Lee Gardner, an American criminal sentenced to death by firing squad in 1985, killed a man during a robbery in Salt Lake City, Utah. While being transferred to court, Gardner shot and killed a lawyer in an attempt to escape. He was convicted of two counts of murder, given a life sentence, and received the death penalty. His execution gained media attention as it marked the first time the firing squad was used in the U.S. in 14 years.

Gardner personally requested the firing squad execution, citing his religious beliefs. He was executed by firing squad in Utah at the age of 49. He was convicted for crimes including theft, robbery, and two murders. For his last meal, Gardner requested a steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and asked to watch the *Lord of the Rings* trilogy while eating.

Nieves Díaz's case stirred controversy as he maintained his innocence until the very end. Díaz and two accomplices robbed a Florida strip club, during which the manager was shot dead, though no one witnessed the crime. His then-girlfriend tipped off the police about his involvement. Díaz was tried and convicted, but continued to insist on his innocence. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection in Florida at the age of 55, after being convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, attempted robbery, and firearm possession.

The controversy intensified when a fellow inmate testified that Díaz had confessed to the crime in his cell, even though Díaz did not speak English and did not know Spanish. Díaz later admitted that he had lied in an attempt to escape justice, but it was too late. In 2006, Díaz was executed by lethal injection in Florida. He refused a special last meal and even declined a regular prison meal. Ultimately, he was given the standard meal served to inmates, though he also chose not to eat it.

Stephen Anderson was executed by lethal injection in California at the age of 49. He had been sentenced to death for a series of crimes, including theft, assault on a prisoner, seven murders, and a prison escape. However, his most notorious crime was the murder of 81-year-old retired piano teacher Elizabeth Lyman. In 1980, at the age of 26, Anderson broke into Lyman's California home.

He cut the phone lines, broke into the elderly woman's house, and ransacked it in search of valuables. When he reached Lyman's bedroom, she woke up and screamed. Anderson shot her in the face at close range, then rifled through her belongings, finding less than $100. He then prepared a meal in her kitchen. For his final meal, Anderson requested two grilled cheese sandwiches, a liter of cottage cheese, a hominy/corn mixture, peach pie, chocolate chip ice cream, and radishes.

Ricky Ray Rector found himself on the path to death row starting on March 21, 1981. He and several friends were at a local 'family-style' restaurant when an argument over an unpaid bill triggered his violent outburst. Rector drew a handgun, shot and killed a man, and then fled the scene. Afterward, he agreed to surrender to a police officer he had known since childhood. However, when the officer turned his back, Rector shot him twice before turning the gun on himself in a failed suicide attempt.

Despite surviving the self-inflicted gunshot wound that destroyed his frontal lobe, Rector was deemed competent to stand trial. His defense claimed he suffered from diminished mental capacity, but the court found him fit for trial. Rector was convicted and sentenced to death. For his final meal, he requested steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid, and a pecan pie. He left the pie uneaten, telling a guard he would 'save it for later.' He was executed by lethal injection on January 24, 1992, with then-President Bill Clinton in attendance at the execution.

Timothy McVeigh is infamous for orchestrating the Oklahoma City bombing. A Gulf War veteran, McVeigh sought revenge against the federal government for its handling of the 1993 Waco siege, which resulted in the deaths of 76 individuals. He hoped to inspire others to rise up against the federal government. Unfortunately, his act of terrorism failed, and he was convicted on 11 federal charges.

McVeigh was sentenced to death, and his execution came much sooner than most death row inmates. While many inmates spend an average of 15 years waiting for their execution, McVeigh was put to death just four years after his conviction. On June 11, 2001, he was executed by lethal injection. For his final meal, McVeigh requested two cups of mint chocolate chip ice cream. After his meal, he watched television as per prison records, then tried to sleep but tossed and turned. At 3 a.m., he turned the TV back on, and his lawyer visited him at 4:30 a.m. A few hours later, McVeigh was led to the execution chamber and executed shortly thereafter.

Victor Feguer was convicted of kidnapping and murder, and was sentenced to death by hanging in Iowa. In the summer of 1960, Feguer arrived in Dubuque, Iowa, and rented a room in a dilapidated boarding house. He claimed that a woman needed medical attention. When Dr. Bartels arrived, Feguer kidnapped and murdered him in Illinois. The body of Dr. Bartels was discovered in a cornfield, with a single gunshot to the head. A few days later, Feguer was captured in Birmingham, Alabama, after attempting to sell Dr. Bartels' car to James B. Alford, who reported him to the FBI.

Feguer was tried and convicted in federal court for his crimes. His appeal was rejected. In Hargreaves' collection *No Seconds*, Feguer's simple request for a single olive with a pit inside was recorded, in the hope that an olive tree would sprout from his grave as a symbol of peace. Victor Feguer was executed by hanging at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison on March 15, 1963. He was the first and last federal execution in Iowa and the final person executed in the state, as Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965.

Oscar Ray Bolin Jr., 53, was executed by lethal injection in Florida in 2016 after spending 23 years on death row. He was convicted of the brutal murders of three women in the 1980s. His half-brother was a key witness and provided crucial evidence against him, having witnessed Bolin savagely beating one woman who was wrapped in a bedspread.

At the time of his execution, Bolin had no final words, but he did have a final meal. His request was for a substantial meal: a medium-rare rib-eye steak, accompanied by baked potatoes with butter and sour cream. He also requested a side salad made of lettuce, sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes, along with garlic bread and a can of Coca-Cola.

Count Forrest was executed at the age of 66 in Missouri in 2016, marking the state's first execution that year. Forrest was convicted for the murders of three people and the injury of two others. The incident unfolded when Forrest went to a victim's house, asking the victim to purchase a mobile home and a lawnmower in exchange for introducing the victim to a meth dealer. When the victim refused, Forrest shot him fatally in the face and then shot another victim six times, killing both victims instantly.

Forrest later killed a deputy sheriff in a shootout and injured two others, including his then-girlfriend. For his crimes, Forrest was executed by lethal injection. As his final meal, Forrest requested a full meal consisting of pasta, steak, slices of tomatoes and cucumbers, fruit, and chocolate cake.

John Wayne Gacy was an infamous serial killer from Illinois, known for his role as a clown at special events under the names 'Patches' or 'Pogo,' earning the nickname 'The Killer Clown.' Despite enduring an abusive upbringing, Gacy maintained a close relationship with his mother and sisters, although his alcoholic father’s violence marked his early years. Beneath his respectable appearance, Gacy began to assault teenage boys, later hiding their bodies in crawl spaces beneath his home, primarily under the dining and bedroom areas.

The case unravelled after the disappearance of 15-year-old Robert Jerome Priest, a pharmacy worker, whose investigation led detectives to Gacy's house. There, they discovered personal items belonging to the victims. Gacy tried to claim insanity but was convicted of 33 murders (only 22 identified) and sentenced to death in 1980. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994 after receiving his final meal. Gacy specifically requested 12 fried shrimp, a heap of french fries, a pound of strawberries, and, interestingly, a bucket of KFC's original recipe fried chicken.