DEATH ROW WEDNESDAY

Death Row Wednesday is a new weekly post that explores the macabre issue of Capital Punishment – not in terms of thumbs up or thumbs down, but rather, what would you choose for your last meal if you found yourself on death’s door?

You’re invited to post a comment consistent with the theme of the week. So this week be sure to tell us what you would want to be on your plate if you were about to meet your fate! For inspiration, you can check out some famous last meals enjoyed by some notorious criminals. My favorite is “A single olive.” You’ve got to love a guy who’s watching his cholesterol AND his weight while on death row! (If you can't get enough of this - click here Texas Inmate last meals .)

One of the funniest last meals was consumed by Leon Jerome Moser: He ate A large cheese pizza, cheese slices, cold cuts, pasta salad, iced cup cakes and a 2-litre bottle of Coca-Cola. The ensuing belch killed two of his jailors and disabled a third, allowing Moser to escape. He was immediately apprehended twelve hundred feet from the prison. Moser was holed up in the mens-room stall at the local Gas-n-Go. Apparently, the eppicurian combination produced a lethal amount of intestinal gas. Prison guards broke down the door after repeated calls for surrender went unanswered. Moser had expired in his own impromtu gas-chamber. Several guards were overcome by fumes – one succumbed to his injuries. Consequently, the above menu items were removed from the “last meal” menu.

For my last meal, I think I'd swallow a bottle of Ritalin and a triple espresso from Starbucks. However, presuming we'd have a little trouble getting Warden approval, I'd probably go with my second choice – two hotdogs (from the closest ballpark) with French’s yellow mustard, a plate of lasagna, and a wheelbarrow full of Brewster’s butter pecan ice cream.

Also, we will spotlight one current death row inmate each week, either because he is funny looking or has achieved notoriety because of the facts earning him a spot on death row.

This week’s winner satisfied both criteria. Christopher Jay Swift is currently sitting on Texas’ Death Row. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice summarizes his shenanigans as follows:

On 4/29/2003 in Denton County, Texas, Swift killed his wife, a twenty-nine year old white female, by strangling her with his hands and striking her in the face with his fist approximately five times. Swift also killed his mother-in-law by strangling her with his hands.

I don’t know what to say . . . Somehow this makes sense to me.

Here’s an interesting fact --

Lethal Injection Consists Of:
Sodium Thiopental (lethal dose - sedates person)
Pancuronium Bromide (muscle relaxant-collapses diaphragm and lungs)
Potassium Chloride (stops heart beat)
The offender is usually pronounced dead approximately 7 minutes after the lethal injection begins.
Cost per execution for drugs used : $86.08

The problem is only 63% is covered by insurance.

By D.Tkon