These are the last meals of the condemned.
Traditionally, death row inmates in the US are able to choose a special meal before their execution (Texas has recently discontinued this practice). Their requests provide a fascinating glimpse of the mindset of a person who knows they will shortly die. Some ask for food that serves as a memory of a better time, others order the most decedent meal they can, and some want nothing at all – perhaps as an act of cleansing, defiance, or the begging of forgiveness.
Regardless, by looking at their meal choices we can see these individuals as humans rather then merely killers and condemned individuals. Perhaps that was artist Henry Hargreaves’ intention when he photographed these meals.
