The Last Supper of a Death Row Inmate

Steaks, lobsters, ice cream, fruit, fried chicken and shrimp, wine, pastries and sweets are just a few of the things a prisoner can order as his last meal. The tradition of leaving the last meal menu to the discretion of a person sentenced to death has existed for a long time, but in 2011 it was abolished in Texas. Thanks to this event, a series of paintings called Last Meal of Death Row appeared.

The paintings in the series are done in the style of the Dutch masters and depict real meals once ordered by people condemned to death. Still lifes by the contemporary British artist Mat Collishaw make the very concept of "still life" more voluminous, because these paintings not only depict something deprived of life (French nature morte - "dead nature"), but also outside the frame of the painting there is someone who will soon be deprived of this life.

Execution date: November 2, 1984. Menu: Large bag of Cheez Doodles and a can of Coca-Cola.

Velma Barfield was initially convicted of murdering her partner, Stuart Taylor, but later confessed to six other murders, including her husband and mother. During the trial, Barfield's defense asked to have their client declared insane, but this request was rejected and the woman was found guilty. The motive for all of Barfield's murders was similar - she was embezzling money from others. All of the victims died as a result of poisoning.

Date of execution: May 10, 1994. Menu: A dozen deep-fried shrimp, a large order of KFC chicken cooked the original way, a pound of fresh strawberries, and French fries.

Gacy was an American serial killer who raped and murdered 33 people between 1972 and 1978. He is also known as the "Killer Clown" because he performed at children's parties dressed as a clown. On December 11, 1978, a 15-year-old boy, who was last seen with Gacy, went missing. The killer was arrested, but during the preliminary search, the police did not check the basement and attic of the house, and Gacy was released, but was arrested again on December 21. During the second search, the bodies of 29 people were found in the basement of the house, and Gacy drowned 4 more bodies in the river. On February 6, 1980, the trial began. The jury returned a verdict: find John Wayne Gacy guilty of premeditated murder of 33 people and sentence him to 21 life imprisonment and 12 death sentences.

Date of execution: June 1, 1962. Menu: dry red wine.

Otto Adolf Eichmann was a German officer and Gestapo employee responsible for solving the "Jewish question". During the war, Eichmann killed 4 million Jews. After the war, he hid from trial, but in 1960, Mossad agents kidnapped him and sent him to Israel, where he stood trial and was sentenced to death. His last words were: "Long live Germany! Long live Argentina! Long live Austria! My whole life is connected with these three countries, and I will never forget them. I greet my wife, family and friends. I was obliged to obey the rules of war and served my flag. I am ready."

Date of execution: December 15, 1999. Menu: One pound of tripe, ten pieces of fried chicken (dark meat), ten pieces of bacon, one raw onion, fifteen fried shrimp, a peach, and one jug of milk.

Sammy Felder Jr. was convicted in February 1975 of murdering 42-year-old paraplegic James Hanks. Hanks lived in the center where Felder worked. One night, Felder entered the victim's apartment and attempted to steal money, but the apartment owner awoke and began screaming for help. In a panic, Felder grabbed a pair of scissors from the nightstand and stabbed the victim. The original conviction was overturned due to improperly filed testimony, but Felder was retried in 1986 and sentenced to death.

Date of execution: June 15, 2000. Menu: Enchiladas and burritos (traditional Mexican dishes), chocolate ice cream, a whole cantaloupe (a plant of the pumpkin family) cut in half.

Paul Nunzio, a former security guard, was convicted of the murder of 61-year-old Pauline Crownover Ferris in Plainview, Texas. Nunzio broke into Pauline's home through the back door, beat, raped and killed the woman, and then stole two televisions, a stereo, a VCR and some jewelry from the house. The criminal was arrested a week after the murder, while selling one of the televisions. The man admitted that he broke into Pauline's house because he knew he could get money for drugs there. Pauline was alone in the house that night when Nunzio and a group of his friends ran onto her porch to escape the rain. When the rain stopped, everyone left except Nunzio, and the next morning neighbors found Pauline dead on the floor of her living room.

Date of execution: July 8, 1999. Menu: Lobster tail, fried potatoes, half a pound of fried shrimp, six ounces of fried clams, half a loaf of garlic bread, 32 ounces of beer.

On May 11, 1982, Allen killed pregnant Nancy Weiler and her two daughters. The woman was "beaten beyond recognition." Davis tied up one of her daughters, 9-year-old Christina, and shot her. The other, 5-year-old Katherine, was shot when she tried to escape. Davis was sentenced to death by electric chair. Complications arose during the execution, which led to conclusions being made about the inhumanity of this type of punishment. Thus, Davis became the last inmate in Florida to be executed by electric chair. Subsequently, all executions were carried out by lethal injection.

Date of execution: January 8, 1999. Menu: 12 candies and ice cream.

Dobie Gillis Williams was executed by lethal injection in Louisiana for the murder of Sonja Nippers. According to the prosecution, Williams entered the home of Carl and Sonja Nippers in the early morning hours of July 8, 1984, through a bathroom window. When Sonja entered the bathroom, he locked the door and killed her. The evidence against Williams is considered controversial. In his final statement, he stated, "I just want to say I didn't hurt anybody. God bless you all. God bless you."

Date of execution: March 18, 2003. Menu: fresh fruit.

On February 18, 1995, at 9 p.m., Jones entered the San Angelo military base looking for his wife, with whom he had argued the night before. Not finding his wife, Jones went into the laundry room, where he saw 19-year-old Tracy McBride talking on the phone with a friend. He forced the girl off the base at gunpoint, took her to his apartment, raped her, and then killed her. Jones later confessed to killing the girl, and her body was found under a bridge 27 miles outside of San Angelo.

Date of execution: January 17, 1977. Menu: hamburger, hard-boiled eggs, baked potato, several cups of coffee and whiskey.

On the evening of July 19, 1976, Gilmore robbed and murdered Max Jensen, a gas station worker. The following evening, he robbed and murdered Benny Bushnell, a motel manager in Provo. While disposing of his gun, Gilmore accidentally shot himself in the hand and left a trail of blood from the crime scene to the garage where he had parked his truck before killing Bushnell. The garage owner, seeing the blood, wrote down Gilmore's truck license plate number and called the police. Gary Gilmore was arrested shortly afterward. He was the first criminal to be executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, which it had abolished in 1972. Gilmore voluntarily chose death, turning down a plea for clemency. His last words were, "Let's do it!" The phrase was later used, with a slight modification, by Nike for an advertising campaign.