In 2011, prison authorities in the US state of Texas abolished the traditional last meal for death row inmates. But why stop this 87-year tradition?
The tradition of the last meal goes back to an ancient Greek custom where the fighters of the games were offered a gigantic buffet the day before the fights. This is how they have a full stomach if they die and have to make their way through the underworld and not return to Earth as a hungry malevolent spirit, according to Take out.
The United States, Japan and South Korea are the only three industrialized democracies among the 58 countries that still apply the death penalty. Although there have been no executions in South Korea since 1997. In the United States, the condemned man can order one last meal which will be offered to him before execution. In Japan, the condemned man, only knowing the date of the execution on the same day, can choose the last meal from a precise selection.
The situation is a bit more complicated in the United States, where each state has different regulations, as explained an attorney on MyLawQuestions : in Florida the meal cannot exceed $ 40, $ 20 in Tennessee and $ 15 in Oklahoma, California if what the inmate asks for is available for purchase at a convenience store near the prison, he is eligible.
In the USA, traditions therefore change according to the States and are applied in every prison where the death penalty is carried out. However, since 2011, Texas has stopped offering inmates the latter choice and instead serves them what all the other prisoners eat that day. How come ?
