Death row inmate orders fast food for last meal due to strict rules

A death row inmate ended up ordering fast food for his last meal as the rules on what people are able to get are actually quite strict.

Former marine Richard Fairchild was executed by lethal injection on Thursday (17 November) for murdering his girlfriend's three-year-old son Adam Broomhall in 1993.

His final words appeared remorseful as he said his death was 'justice for Adam', with the child's family witnessing his execution.

Attorneys for the 63-year-old had asked for clemency and appealed for a last minute stay of execution, claiming he was in a poor mental state, but both of these attempts were unsuccessful.

Michael Hurst, Adam's uncle, said after the execution that 'our long journey for justice has finally arrived' and that Fairchild's 'remorse was finally sincere'.

The murderer's last meal was a pair of quarter-pounder cheeseburgers with large fries, a pumpkin pie, a pint of chocolate ice cream and a large coke to drink.

His food came in the form of a fast food order due to strict rules surrounding the last meal.

REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

Death row inmates executed in Oklahoma have a $25 (£22) limit for the cost of their last meals, with prison staff required to put in 'reasonable effort' to fulfil the request.

Not every state still carries on the practice of offering last meals, with Texas abolishing them in 2011 after one death row inmate ordered two steaks, a triple-meat cheeseburger, a cheese omelette, a large bowl of fried okra, three fajitas, a pint of ice cream and 0.45kg of barbecue meat... all for him to then refuse to eat it.

Texas death row inmates now instead receive the standard prison meal for the day rather than getting to make a request.

Many of the last meals go uneaten by the death row inmates who ordered them, and according to experts the practice is done to humanise the prisoners in the eyes of the public.

There are still 27 states in the US where some crimes can receive a sentence of the death penalty.

What happens in the final 24 hours of a death row inmate's life is that the prisoner is allowed to have their final visits from any friends and family who want to see them.

The equipment which will be used to execute them is tested during this final day to ensure it works, while the prisoner eats their last meal.

They will be visited by a warden and a chaplain, who will stay with the death row inmate until their execution.

Tracy King/Alamy Stock Photo

Executions in the US are usually carried out by lethal injection, with friends and family of both the inmate and their victims allowed to watch from a witness room.

Tied down to a gurney and prepared for the injection, the prisoner will be given the opportunity to speak their final words before the execution is carried out.

The origins of the last meal could trace their roots as far back as ancient Greece, while others believe it is connected to the last supper Jesus Christ ate.

Some historical studies claim ancient Greeks believed you should feed people about to be executed so they could cross into the underworld and avoid coming back as a 'hungry ghost'.