Six pints, a single olive and a lump of dirt: Chilling final meal requests of death row inmates

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It's the basis of dinner party small talk, cringeworthy team-building exercises and even the premise of some podcasts: 'What would your death row meal be?'

The question is designed to spark chatter about people's very favourite foods; but its premise is rooted in a chilling custom, whereby prisoners awaiting execution are granted a final meal before being put to death.

While not a mandatory requirement for prisoners on death row in countries where the death penalty still exists, the request is often granted in the US, with the final meals written into public records of executions.

But with prisoners able to ask for anything they want, the requests can sometimes look a little unusual as convicted criminals wield their little piece of power to cause unrest and make their mark on history. 

A list of some such bizarre death row meal requests has recently resurfaced online which has left people baffled and disturbed in equal measure.

The post on the Depths of Wikipedia Instagram page, which shares obscure entries from Wikipedia, revealed some of the weird requests from prisoners - including a single olive, a large volume of alcohol and even a 'lump of dirt'. 

Here, FEMAIL reveals some of the strangest and most chilling death row meal requests in history...

James Edward Smith

In 1990 James Edward Smith was sentenced to death by lethal injection for convicted murder

In April 1990, James Edward Smith was executed by lethal injection for murder. He was 37 years old.

Smith fatally shot insurance executive Larry D. Rohus during a robbery inside a second-floor cashier's office near the Astrodome on March 7, 1983. 

During the jury selection for his trial in Texas, Smith attempted to escape and ran from the courthouse. He only made it a few blocks before he was captured and returned to custody. 

After being found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, Smith appealed the sentence. However, it was upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1987.

For his final meal, Smith initially requested a lump of rhaeakunda dirt. It was thought that the specific dirt was used in voodoo rituals, which Smith thought may assist him in reincarnation.

However the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied Smith's request - so he settled on a cup of yoghurt.

His initial execution was scheduled for 1988; but this was pushed back when his mother's lawyers appealed for stay of execution. He was eventually executed in 1990.

Odell Barnes Jr.

In 2000 Odell Barnes Jr., from Texas, was was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of Helen Bass

In 2000 Odell Barnes Jr., from Texas, was was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of Helen Bass.

Bass was 42 years old when she was beaten, stabbed and shot in her own home. There were also signs she may have been raped. 

Barnes Jr. was convicted based on forensic evidence and witness testimony which placed him at the crime scene, including traces of his semen. He also had two patches of Helen's blood on his clothes.

However, serious questions were raised over his conviction after Barnes Jr was represented by two local attorneys when the Wichita County Public Defender's office was considered unequipped to handle the case.

Anti-death penalty advocates began to campaign against his conviction and attracted global media attention; even sparking diplomatic protests from the French government. 

Despite the international attention, Barnes was executed on March 1, 2000.  

For his final meal, Barnes requested 'justice, equality and world peace.' However, it was denied because it was not actually a meal. 

George W Barrett

George W Barrett, from Kentucky, who was also known as The Diamond King and Bad George was an American car thief and murderer

George W Barrett, from Kentucky, also known as The Diamond King and Bad George, was an American car thief and convicted murderer.

In 1936 he became the first person sentenced to death by hanging in Lockport, Indiana.

Barrett had killed FBI Agent Nelson B. Klein in a shootout on August 14, 1935, before dying, Klein shot back, hitting Barrett in the legs and crippling him. 

For his final meal, Barrett requested 'the largest steak in town', which was granted - but when it came to his mealtime, the convict did not eat it. 

After his death, a reporter who had been present for the execution spotted the steak in the jail kitchen and helped himself to it. 

Lawrence Russell Brewer

Lawrence Russell Brewer, from Texas, was executed by lethal injection in 2011, 13 years after murdering James Byrd

Lawrence Russell Brewer, from Texas, was executed by lethal injection in 2011, 13 years after murdering James Byrd. 

Brewer ordered a huge final meal, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark. 

It consisted of two chicken fried steaks smothered in gravy with sliced onions, a triple meat bacon cheeseburger with fixings on the side, a cheese omelette with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños, a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup.

However it didn't stop there. hHe also ordered one pound of barbecue wings with half a loaf of white bread, three fajitas with fixings, a Meat Lovers pizza, three root beers, one pint of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts. 

Brewer's request was granted, but he refused the meal when it arrived saying that he was simply 'not hungry'.

This prompted the state of Texas to stop granting last meal requests to condemned inmates. 

Senator John Whitmire wrote a letter to the executive director of the Texas criminal justice department, complaining about Brewer's request.

Whitmire said it was inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege.

Robert Anthony Buell

In 2002, Robert Anthony Buell, from Ohio, was executed by lethal injection for the 1982 murder of 11-year-old Krista Lea Harrison

In 2002, Buell from Ohio, was executed by lethal injection for the 1982 murder of 11-year-old Krista Lea Harrison.

Eight years after his death, in 2010, Buell was found to have also killed 12-year-old Tina Marie Harmon in 1981 after new DNA evidence linked him to the crime.

In the hours before his execution, Buell listened to classical music on the radio, ate bran flakes and drank a glass of milk.

For his final meal, he requested a single black, unpitted olive. 

It is thought such a request has been made by several prisoners on death row in various US states, in the hope that olive trees would grow from their graves as a sign of peace. 

Saddam Hussein 

In 2006 Saddam Hussein was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 Dujail massacre of over 140 Shia Muslims and sentenced to death by hanging

Saddam Hussein was an Iraqi dictator who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until he was overthrown in 2003. 

He previously served as the vice president of Iraq from 1968 to 1979 and also served as prime minister from 1979 to 1991 and later from 1994 to 2003. 

In 2006 he was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 Dujail massacre of over 140 Shia Muslims and sentenced to death by hanging. 

According to The Times, he refused offers of 'a last meal of chicken and shawarma rice', as well as cigarettes. 

Meanwhile other sources state Hussein did in fact eat his last meal of chicken and rice, and had a cup of hot water with honey.

Velma Barfield

Velma Barfield, from North Carolina, was the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 resumption of capital punishment and the first since 1962

Velma Barfield, from North Carolina, was the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 resumption of capital punishment. 

Barfield was an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder but eventually confessed to six murders in total. 

In 1984 she became the first woman in the country to be put to death by lethal injection.

The day of her execution at Raleigh's Central Prison, Barfield apologized for 'all the hurt I have caused' and requested a final meal of Coca-Cola and cheese puffs, according to The New York Times and The Washington Post.  

Philip Ray Workman 

Philip Ray Workman was a death row inmate executed in Tennessee on May 9, 2007

Philip Ray Workman was a death row inmate executed in Tennessee on May 9, 2007. 

He was convicted in 1982 for the murder of a police officer Lt. Ronald Oliver following a robbery of a Wendy's restaurant in Memphis, and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

For his final meal, the 53-year-old, who was addicted to cocaine and homeless at the time, asked if a vegetarian pizza could be donated to any homeless person residing near Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

Although officials refused his request, word soon spread and locals came together to try and grant his wish, donating hundreds of pizzas around Nashville.

Meanwhile, a woman named Donna Spangler grouped together with her friends to raise over $1,000 (£783) to buy even more pizzas.

'Philip Workman was trying to do a good deed and no one would help him,' said Spangler.

In Workman's name, the president of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, also heard about the request and ordered 15 vegetarian pizzas to be sent to the Rescue Mission.    

John Albert Taylor 

In 1996 John Albert Taylor became the America's first convict in 19 years to die before a firing squad

In 1996 John Albert Taylor became the America's first convict in 19 years to die before a firing squad.

The 36-year-old was executed at Utah State Prison, the state is alone in offering the condemned a choice of lethal injection or firing squad.

Taylor said he chose the firing squad because it would be costly and embarrassing to the state and because he feared 'flipping around like a fish out of water' if given an injection. 

He also hoped the method would more dramatically underscore his claim that his death would be state-sanctioned murder. 

Taylor was convicted of raping 11-year-old Charla Nicole King and strangling her with a telephone cord in 1989. 

Taylor's own sister, Laura Galli, who testified at his sentencing that he had raped her three times when she was 12, tipped off police that he may have murdered the child. 

For his last meal Taylor ordered a antacid medicine, a cigarette and a large Ambassador pizza with thin crust, onions, mushrooms, hot peppers, sausage, pepperoni, ham and extra cheese.  

Ricky Ray Rector 

Ricky Ray Rector was an American convicted murderer who was executed for the 1981 murder of police officer Bob Martin in Conway, Arkansas

Ricky Ray Rector was an American murderer who was executed for the 1981 murder of police officer Bob Martin in Conway, Arkansas. 

After killing Martin in a restaurant and fleeing, Rector spent three days on the run before he agreed to turn himself in.

After shooting Bob Martin, Rector attempted to take his own life by shooting himself in the head.

The bullet wound, and subsequent surgery to remove the bullet from Rector's head resulted in a frontal lobotomy (the loss of a three-inch section of his brain), leaving him mentally impaired.

In 1996 Rector was executed by lethal injection, however Rector seemed incapable of understanding his pending death sentence. 

For his last meal, he left the pecan pie he requested on the side of the tray, telling the guards who came to take him to the execution chamber that he was saving it 'for later'. 

Harry Charles Moore 

Harry Charles Moore was an American convicted murderer who was executed in Oregon for the 1992 murders of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham

Harry Charles Moore was an American convicted murderer who was executed in Oregon for the 1992 killings of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham. 

Moore said he had killed the couple, his in-laws, because he thought they would move to Las Vegas with his estranged wife and infant daughter, and expose them to a life of prostitution and drugs. 

He was the second person executed by the state of Oregon since 1978 and remains the state's most recent execution.

The 57-year-old requested two green apples, two red apples, a tray of fresh fruit and two two-litre bottle of Coca Cola.  

Thomas J Grasso 

Thomas J Grasso was executed in 1995 for using Christmas tree lights to strangle an 85-year-old woman

Thomas J Grasso admitted murdering two elderly people; 85-year-old Hilda Johnson in 1990, who was strangled with Christmas tree lights, and Leslie Holtz in 1991, an 81-year-old man from whom he stole his social security cheque. 

His bizarre last meal request was for two dozen steamed mussels, two dozen steamed clams, a Burger King double cheeseburger, six barbecued spare ribs, two large milkshakes, a tin of SpaghettiOs with meatballs, half a pumpkin pie and strawberries and cream.

Unfortunately, the length or complexity of his list seemed to confuse kitchen staff who made one crucial mistake. 

Grasso's last words were: 'I did not get my SpaghettiOs, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.' 

Mathias Kneißl

Mathias Kneißl was a German outlaw, poacher and popular social rebel in the Dachau district, in the Kingdom of Bavaria

Mathias Kneißl was a German outlaw, poacher and popular social rebel in the Dachau district, in the Kingdom of Bavaria.

He was charged with two murders, attempted murder, as well as armed robbery and extortion.

The Court sentenced him to receive the death penalty for murder and 15 years imprisonment on the other charges. 

In 1902, he was sentenced to decapitation by guillotine. For his last meal he requested six glasses of beer.

Ronnie Lee Gardner 

Ronnie Lee Gardner was sentenced to death for the 1985 killing of attorney Michael Burdell during an attempted escape from a Salt Lake City courthouse

Ronnie Lee Gardner was sentenced to death for the 1985 killing of attorney Michael Burdell during an attempted escape from a Salt Lake City courthouse. 

At the time of the murder, Gardner was in court, accused of killing Melvyn John Otterstrom during a 1984 robbery at a bar.

After a quarter of a century on death row, Gardner, 49, became the first man to die by firing squad in Utah in 14 years in 2010. 

He is the most recent person to be executed by this method. 

Gardner ate a last meal of steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7-Up before beginning a 48-hour fast while watching The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.