Oklahoma is for Meat Lover's Lovers

They say "Virginia is for Lovers," but folks in Oklahoma apparently have other things on their mind--namely, huge portions of meat. For the third time in the past five months, an Oklahoma inmate has ordered a large meat lover's pizza as the main dish in his last meal.

Steven Thacker, convicted of murdering three different people in three different states, was executed tonight for killing a woman whom he visited on the pretense of buying her pool table. Thacker also asked for peanut M&Ms and a root beer to round out his feast. In Oklahoma, death row inmates can only request food available at local fast food restaurants. The spending limit is $15.

Sheesh, Treesh, That's Quite a Feast

Frederick Treesh was executed today by the state of Ohio for his part in a massive five-state crime spree that included bank robberies, car-jackings, sexual assaults, and the murder of a security guard at an adult book store.

From a legal standpoint, Treesh had no appeals left. He also had little personal appeal, as he declined to take a shower prior to his execution. Treesh did, however, take advantage of Ohio’s generous and mostly open-ended last meal policy. Treesh asked for a 32-ounce Porterhouse steak with mushrooms, eggs and hash browns, onion rings, deep-fried mushrooms, cottage cheese, a hot fudge sundae, one Coke, and one root beer.

Classic Cuisine for Cook

Andrew Allen Cook, executed by the state of Georgia tonight, opted for one of the classic death row menus: surf and turf. Cook asked for steak, fried shrimp, baked potato, potato wedges, and lemon meringue pie for dessert.

Cook was found guilty of gunning down two college students in a random shooting in 1995.

Carl Henry Sings the Execution Blues

Carl Henry Blue, executed by the state of Texas tonight, was definitely a colorful character. In 1994, Blue went to the apartment of an ex-girlfriend to get back at her for breaking up with him. High on crack and malt liquor, Blue stopped at a convenience store first and filled a “Big Gulp” cup with fifty cents worth of gasoline. When his ex-girlfriend opened the door to her apartment, Blue saw red and threw the gasoline on her, then ignited her in a fit of rage. He then noticed another man in the apartment and, green with envy, threw the rest of the gasoline on him. The ex-girlfriend died from her injuries while the man survived.

After the crime, Blue turned yellow. “She caught on fire, he caught on fire, and I took off running,” he told police. “I was scared, man.” Blue later told a little white lie by saying that he threw the gasoline on the two people as a practical joke, and didn’t mean for either one of them to get hurt.

Since Texas no longer allows inmates to order a special last meal, Blue was served the same food as the other prisoners in his unit. The daily menu included chicken patties and barbecued beef.

What Gleason Gobbled is a Guessing Game

There was electricity in the air at the state of Virginia's death chamber tonight--and no, we don't mean excitement. We mean real electricity. That's because triple murderer Robert Gleason chose the electric chair over lethal injection as his choice of capital punishment method. 

It seems odd that a man who made his living as a tattoo artist wanted to avoid the needle, but Gleason claimed he didn't want to take his execution lying down--literally. He wanted to die sitting up. He also thought the electric chair would be faster and less likely to result in a botched execution.

Gleason never fought his death sentence. In fact, he did everything he could to speed up the process. He was originally sentenced for a single murder, then killed two more men while behind bars in order to hasten his own demise.

Gleason did order a special last meal--in Virginia, inmates are given a choice of items from the prison's standard menu--but he also chose to keep that last meal a secret, which Virginia also allows.

Pardo Partakes of Pork, Plantains, & Pumpkin Pie

Manuel Pardo, a former policeman turned cold-blooded killer, was executed by the state of Florida tonight. Pardo was convicted of shooting nine people to death during a three-month rampage in 1986. All of the victims were thought to have ties to the drug business. Pardo claimed that he was doing the world a favor by murdering those he called “parasites,” but he also stole and used credit cards from his victims—a big no-no among self-righteous vigilantes.

During his trial, Pardo admitted that he enjoyed killing people and said he wished he had killed more. After his conviction, however, Pardo softened his persona and became known as a “Death Row Romeo” who became pen pals with dozens of women and persuaded many of them to send him money.

It’s easy to see how this deadly dreamboat gathered such a large flock of admirers. Ladies, try not to swoon as you gaze at his photograph. And to answer the question that’s racing through everyone’s mind right now—no, Brad Pitt did not have a long-lost twin brother.

For his last meal, Pardo ate roast pork, red beans, rice, plantains, avocados, and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil. He had pumpkin pie for dessert, and washed everything down with eggnog and Cuban coffee.