Texas, home to cattle ranches and more death-row executions than any other state, doesn’t allow steak for a final meal. If you order steak in Texas, you get hamburger.

I have always been focused on food. As a kid, I won eating contests; these days I grow organic produce. The years I spent in Oklahoma, which has the highest per capita rate of executions, turned my interest in food toward final meals.

The Last Supper is a series of ceramic plates illustratingfinal meal requests in the United States. To date, I have painted nearly 500. I plan to continue adding fifty more each year until capital punishment is abolished. 

When looking at the inmates’ humble choices, it is important to note that while rituals and traditions vary, most states limit final-meal allowances to twenty dollars. Maryland is the only state that does not allow any meal selection. A last cigarette is permitted in some prisons. Alcohol is prohibited in all. Texas denies bubble gum.  Sometimes requests provide clues about personality, race, and region. An Oregon inmate’s final meal request closed with “I would appreciate the eggs hot.” And who wouldn’t.

Julie Green.  Gastronomica Journal, Spring 2011, with revised plate count

Statistics from The Death Penalty Information Center FactSheet 11 July 2011 http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

Total U.S. State-Sanctioned Executions Since 1976: 1260
Numbers of State Executions Since 1976

States without the death penalty
Alaska
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Washington, DC