In 2011, the prison authorities of the American state of Texas abolished the traditional last meal for inmates on death row. But why stop this 87-year-old tradition?
The tradition of the last meal goes back to a custom of Ancient Greece where the fighters of the games were offered a gigantic buffet the day before the fights. This is so that they have a full stomach if they die and have to make their way through the underworld and not come back to Earth as a hungry malevolent spirit, according to TakeOut.
The United States, Japan and South Korea are the only three industrialized democracies among the 58 countries that still apply the death penalty. Although in South Korea, there has been no execution since 1997. In the USA, the condemned can order a last meal which will be offered to him before the execution. In Japan, the convict only learning his date of execution the same day, can choose a last meal from a precise selection.
The situation is a little more complicated in the United States, where each state has different regulations, as explained a lawyer on MyLawQuestions : in Florida the meal cannot exceed $40, $20 in Tennessee and $15 in Oklahoma, in California if what the prisoner asks for is purchasable in a convenience store near the prison, he is entitled to it.
In the USA, the traditions therefore change according to the States and are applied in each prison where the death penalty is carried out. However, since 2011, Texas has stopped offering inmates this last choice and serves them what all other prisoners eat that day. Why ?