Paul Augustus Howell was executed tonight by the state of Florida for his part in the death of a highway trooper. Howell was a drug trafficker who built a pipe bomb to kill two murder witnesses, but a Florida trooper was killed instead when he pulled the car containing the pipe bomb over during a routine traffic stop.
I can think of many reasons why Howell should have ordered an exceptional last meal prior to his demise. First, he was convicted in the state that serves the finest last meals in the country. Steak, lobster, fancy desserts--they're all available if your rendezvous with the Grim Reaper happens to take place in the Sunshine State. Second, Howell's middle name was Augustus, just like the first emperor of Rome. At the very least, he should've ordered a Caesar salad. Third, Howell was of Jamaican ancestry. I'm sure those talented Florida prison chefs could've whipped up some jerk chicken, oxtail soup, or something else with a little Caribbean flair.
But instead of choosing any of those options for his last meal, Paul Howell asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The lowest item on the culinary food chain, something that would barely raise the excitement level of your average kindergarten student. And Howell's choice begs another question as well; how do you utter your last words when your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth? Only Howell knows, and at this point, he's not talking.
Movie fans around the world were stunned this morning to
learn that the state of Missouri has executed one of the stars of such classic
teen films as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.
Uh, wait. Scratch that. We’re being told that man’s name is Anthony
Michael Hall.
Take two.
Music fans around the world were stunned this morning to
learn that the state of Missouri has executed the former bass player for the rock
group Van Halen.
Uh, wait. Scratch that. We’re being told that man’s name is Michael
Anthony.
Take three.
Fans of justice were pleased to learn that the state of
Missouri has executed Michael Anthony Taylor for his part in the brutal kidnap,
rape, and murder of a teenage girl in 1989. Taylor had no last words, and also
didn’t request a special last meal. He was served potato soup and a sandwich.
First, convicted killer Juan Carlos Chavez’s veins were
filled with fructose. Then, just a few hours later, those same veins were
filled with midazolam hydrochloride, vecuronium bromide, and potassium
chloride.
Chavez earned his death sentence for a kidnap, rape, and murder in 1995. This well-deserved and long-overdue execution was carried out
tonight by the state of Florida using a new three-drug lethal injection
cocktail.
Prior to his execution, Juan Carlos Chavez ate a last meal
of ribeye steak, French fries, a mix of mangoes, bananas, and papaya,
strawberry ice cream, and mango juice.
Lawyers for Suzanne Basso, executed tonight by the state of Texas, tried to save their client with last-minute appeals that claimed the woman was mentally unsound. Over the years, Basso did all she could to foster that belief. She spoke in strange voices in court, and also claimed to be blind and paralyzed. She once accused a prison nurse of trying to kill her by smuggling a deadly snake into her hospital room inside a book about Roy Rogers. Basso also told people that she was a triplet, that she had once worked for New York's governor, and that she and Nelson Rockefeller had been romantically involved.
So those "mentally unsound" claims might have some merit after all.
What's undisputed, however, is that Basso killed a man named Louis Musso as part of a plot to steal his insurance money and social security benefits. (Can you imagine if she had strangled him with one of those cowboy ropes and committed the crime at one of the gas stations owned by Exxon? The headline would've read "Basso Kills Musso with Lasso at Esso.")
Since Texas no longer allows special last meal requests, executed inmates are fed the same food as everyone else in their unit. For her last meal, Suzanne Basso had baked chicken, fish, boiled eggs, carrots, green beans, and sliced bread.
