Several artists, including Celia A. Shapiro and James Reynolds, have undertaken projects re-creating the last meals of inmates on death row, as a way of drawing attention to the prisoners’ social backgrounds, personalities, and their executions. The text for Shapiro’s photo-essay, published in Mother Jones in 2004, begins: “When Arkansas executed Rickey Ray Rector back when Bill Clinton was governor, the mentally impaired inmate famously set aside half of his last meal—a pecan pie—for after the execution.”

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *