Only in America: Death row's last supper
Death-row inmates in Texas are denied a last meal of their choosing — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation

Texas will no longer allow death-row inmates to choose a last meal before execution. Officials made the change after murderer Lawrence Brewer ordered an elaborate last meal — including a triple bacon cheeseburger, a pizza, a pound of barbecued meat, and ice cream — then declared he wasn’t hungry. "Enough is enough," said state Sen. John Whitmire. Choosing one's last meal is "a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
5 X-plosive cartoons about Elon Musk
Cartoons Artists take on his proposed clean-up of X, his views on advertisers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
2023: the year of superhero fatigue
The Explainer The year may represent the end of an era for Hollywood
By Brendan Morrow, The Week US Published
-
Recipe: roast garlic mushrooms with parsley and eggs by Gelf Alderson
The Week Recommends A simple and classic breakfast combination
By The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published