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Texas jails abolish last meals after uneaten banquet
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| Contributor | Hikikomori Blitzkrieg! |
| Last Edited | Hikikomori Blitzkrieg! Sep 24, 2011 08:28am |
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| Category | Announcement |
| News Date | Friday, September 23, 2011 10:05:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Prison officials in the US state of Texas have abolished the traditional last meal request for inmates who are facing execution.
The move came after a prisoner requested a huge meal then did not eat any of it, saying he was not hungry.
Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed on Wednesday for the notorious hate-crime killing of James Byrd Jr in 1998.
The abolition followed a complaint by Texan Senator John Whitmire, who called the meal privilege "inappropriate".
Senator Whitmire, a Democrat and chairman of the state Senate Criminal Justice Committee, threatened to introduce legislation if the last meal offer was not withdrawn.
"Enough is enough," he said. "It is extremely inappropriate to give a person sentenced to death such a privilege. It's a privilege which the perpetrator did not provide to their victim."
Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, replied within hours, saying the tradition would be abolished.
Mr Livingston said the inmates would now "receive the same meal served to other offenders on the unit". |
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