Death Row psychologist for infamous serial killers answers biggest question about last meal request
A psychologist who has spent time with hundreds of death row inmates, including sitting down to eat with some of them for their ‘final meals', has revealed whether he thinks they ‘deserve’ their last request.
Clinical Psychologist Dr. Bill Kimberlin has sat down with, and researched, prolific serial killers including 'BTK' Dennis Rader and Samuel Little, and has also witnessed the execution of a number of inmates.
They are, or were, all entitled to one last death row meal, besides those in Texas - which we'll get on to later. But one of the biggest questions, one that can cause big debate, is whether the inmates who have committed some of the most horrific crimes should be given the luxury.
The ritual, which fascinates many, isn't there to comfort the criminal, but instead to demonstrate compassion and civility before an execution.
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But after spending so much time on death row speaking to inmates, does Kimberlin agree that they should be granted a slap up meal of their choice before they leave the world?
Speaking to UNILAD, Kimberlin says: “I'm not opposed to them having a last meal at all.
“I guess when you're getting ready to administer the most lethal form of human punishment that you can by taking their life, what's one last meal?”
However, the author acknowledges that victims of the death row inmates will have a different opinion.
“It’s easy for me to say that from the outside. These individuals, when I’m dealing with them, or working with them, have never done anything bad to me. They’ve never harmed myself, family, or friends."
“So, I can’t speak for the victims’ families out there when they have suffered and had to endure so much,” he adds. “I’m certain they do not want this individual to enjoy anything, let alone a last meal.”
In the United States, inmates typically spend an average of 22 years awaiting execution, due to complex, mandatory legal appeals and post-conviction reviews. Timelines can vary depending on the state.
Kimberlin adds: “In this time, the families of the victim will never be able to start their closure or anything.
“They have to relive it constantly throughout the appeals and the whole process.
“I’m certain those that are affected by the crimes themselves have a much different opinion than I do.”
The ‘final death row meal’ of just about anything they want is available for inmates in most of the states where the death penalty is legal. However, some have limitations.
Inmates in Texas don’t have this privilege at all, however, due to the actions of Lawrence Russell Brewer, a white supremacist.
The criminal, who was jailed in the late 1990s along with three other men for murdering James Byrd Jr., reportedly asked for a banquet to mark his final meal on earth, which included chicken steaks, fried okra with ketchup, and a cheese omelette with ground beef, jalapenos and bell peppers.
That wasn’t all, as he also requested a 'triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas, one pound of barbecue and a half loaf of white bread, pizza meat lover's special, one pint of 'homemade vanilla' Blue Bell ice cream, one slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts and three root beers'.
The inmate, who was executed by lethal injection in September 2011, simply said he wasn’t hungry when the feast was provided, not even touching a bite.
It was from then on that Texas senator John Whitmire banned the ‘final meal’ and to this day - no inmate in the state is granted one.
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Topics: Death Row, True crime, US News, Psychology
Kiesha Dosanjh