FLORIDA LAST MEAL
NEWTON SLAWSON
May 16, 2003

``I'm ready. It is time.''...a very bad man in Florida

Last Meal: Slawson, a former fertilizer bag stacker, last meal was a plate of battered fried scallops and a Coke.

The skinny: Slawson was executed for killing an entire family. Slawson killed a husband and wife, their two young kids, and their unborn baby. He sliced open the woman's body, taking her nearly full-term baby from her womb, shooting and killing it. Family members said Slawson's punishment wasn't enough.

Evidence and trial: Police said the 1989 slayings occurred after husband offered to sell Slawson crack cocaine and the wife said she feared he might be a police officer. What happened next is unclear, but Slawson got his gun and opened fire on the family. In his trial, prosecutors claimed Slawson had fantasies about dismembering women. When he was arrested, police found bloody clothing, a bloody knife, a .357 revolver with blood on it, an assault rifle, 180 rounds of ammunition and a Penthouse magazine in which had drawn images of slit bellies on some of the nude photographs.

Defense attorneys argued that the husband had slipped crack cocaine into Slawson's beer, sending an unstable man into a killing rage.

Machinations: Just an hour before Slawson's scheduled execution Thursday, Gov. Jeb Bush issued a temporary stay so that three psychiatrists could examine whether Slawson was competent to be executed. Those psychiatrists reported to Bush around midnight and ruled him competent. The standard for competency is understanding that execution will result in death and why the sentence is being imposed.

Last Day: Slawson ate his last meal, read from a Star Trek novel titled ''Eugenics Wars,'' and visited with family members for the final time when given news of the stay. He was visibly upset by the delay.

Last words and such: Slawson never explained why he killed the family. And he never apologized. Slawson appeared ''very relaxed, very focused,'' before his execution, and that the inmate told guards, ``I'm ready. It is time.'' When the warden asked Slawson this morning if there was anything he'd like to say before he died, Slawson simply said, "No, sir." Slawson was given Valium before the injection.

Factoids: An anonymous executioner, who injected the lethal cocktail of chemicals, was paid $150 in cash.

Slawson was the 56th person executed since Florida resumed executions in 1979 and the second to die this year. He was the 13th person executed under a death warrant signed by Jeb Bush.

Death penalty opponents criticized the execution as an ''assisted suicide,'' noting that recent executions in Florida have been inmates like female serial killer Aileen Wournos, who have given up their right to appeal. Nationwide, 97 such ''volunteers'' have been executed since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for restoration of the death penalty in the mid-1970's, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit interest group.

DME.COM reader's last meals...from Texas to Australia (our first from "Down Under") DME.COM spans the globe!!!

Vicki H. from Houston, Texas makes us put some miles on our car as we hit three drive-throughs to get...

Large canadian bacon pizza from Domino's, Super size order of fries from McDonald's, 2 Quesidillas from Taco Bell, chocolate sour cream pound cake, French vanilla ice cream, a pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

&


Lula in Sydney, Australia: does some 'roo...

Grilled Kangaroo loin (rare) on a honey roasted sweet potato mash. Dessert: caramel cheescake.

NO GO IN FLORIDA...FOR TODAY

The highlights:

In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush issued a last-minute stay to determine whether a convicted killer is competent to be executed.

Newton Carlton Slawson, 48, who gunned down a Tampa family in 1989, had been scheduled to die by injection Thursday evening. If a psychiatric exam determines he is competent, he will be executed as early as Friday.

Slawson had dropped his appeals and fired his attorneys, who responded by telling the governor's office that he is insane. That triggered a state law that requires a stay and orders a psychiatric examination.

TEXAS LAST MEAL
BRUCE JACOBS
May 15, 2003

"People tell me I'm slow,"...plus our third Psalm....

Last Meal: a whole fried chicken, 12 buttered bread slices, fried onion rings, fried okra, a six-pack of RC Cola, two tomatoes and a large bag of Fritos corn chips.

The skinny: Jacobs was executed for stabbing a boy to death with a butcher knife on the youngster's 16th birthday. Jacobs forced his way into the teenager's Dallas home. The boy was stabbed at least 24 times and part of the knife blade was left imbedded in his body. The boy's father witnessed the crime and identified Jacobs as the killer. The father gave police information for a sketch of the suspect and a taxi driver told authorities the drawing looked like a customer he had the morning of the killing. Jacobs was remembered for his beard and a Panama hat that he wore. Jacobs, still wearing the hat but recently shaven, was arrested inside a convenience store.

ALIBI: Jacobs, who worked mostly as a dishwasher and had a criminal history of violence with knives and razor blades, acknowledged he was in the Harris house at 6:30 that morning but said another intruder in the house at the same time was to blame for the killing.

"I'm going to get executed for something I didn't do," he said recently from death row. "Somebody jumped me from behind... I left and went home. I didn't know there was a murder until three days later."

Last minute machinations: Defense lawyers claimed Jacobs was mentally ill but couldn't prove he was mentally retarded. When he was 14, an intelligence test put Jacobs' IQ at 77 while subsequent testing over the years put his IQ somewhat higher. Someone with an IQ less than 70 generally is considered retarded.

"People tell me I'm slow," Jacobs, a 10th-grade dropout, said from death row.

Last words and such: Jacobs thanked a few supporters who watched from a nearby observation room and said "Take care of yourselves and y'all stay strong." Then, Jacobs recited the 23rd Psalm (see below) as his final statement. He spent the last six months memorizing it.

Factoid: Jacobs become the 15th killer put to death this year in Texasand the 304th inmate executed by Texas since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982.

There are two executions scheduled for next month in Texas.

The condemned man's father, who cannot attend the execution in Huntsville because of his failing health, said he will be sitting by the phone just in case his son calls to wish him a final farewell – or, for the first time, admit his crime.

"He's never told me a thing about it," he said. "If he calls, all I would ask him is, 'Did you tell the chaplain all your sins? If you didn't, get on your knees and tell the Lord all you've done.' They can pour 5 gallons of water over him and baptize him, but if he lies, he's going straight to hell."

The 23rd Psalm

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

He spent the last six months memorizing it.

DME.COM reader's last meals...

Lobster, Lobster, uh....not Lobster.


larry d.., from tampa, fl., may 13, 2003 Key Lime Pie, baby! Though the appeal of non-alcholic beer has always eludes us.

the menu: A 16 oz. RIbeye, medium rare, with an 16 oz. broiled Maine lobster tail with lots of drawn butter, Ceasar's Salad WITH ANCHOVIES, Side of baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives, cheddar cheese and real bacon bits, 6-pack of St. Pauli's Girl NON ALCOHOLIC beer, Quart of whole milk and a whole Key Lime Pie to finish off the meal. Finally, a pot of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and a couple of hand rolled cigars to top it all off. And TWO Valiums 30 minutes prior to the injection.


susan, from west texas, may 13, 2003. Lemon Meringue Pie, baby!

the menu:sour cream. (I Like Butter huh?) Iced Tea with Sweet N Low. (How long do I get.?? I may need to rest in between the meal and desert....) Lemon Meringue pie made with eagle Brand Milk...Cup of coffee.


mjw., from houston, tx., may 13, 2003

the menu: As a former 5-year employee of TDCJ-ID [aka the Texas Prison System], I am well versed in prison cuisine and I am not sure that it would be of much comfort in my final hours to be faced with mystery meat and funky milk. I am opposed to the death penalty [for myself and everyone else] for many reasons, ranging from philosophic to economic. I would probably choose to have food at my last meal with would react badly with the drugs used in the lethal injection -- resulting in a symbolic statement of the "mess" in our Texas judicial system. Likely, I would chose brown, green and purple foods that would make me vomit when strapped on the gurney.

DME.COM is on the road again...

Memphis in May!

As you know this website is more about food than about death. Well, equal parts food and death. On that note, DME.COM is in Memphis for the World Famous BBQ cook-off. We eased into a full slab at the rib mecca, Charlie Vergos Rendezvous. The ribs were A+, the sides of cole slaw and beans were okay. The sausage and cheese appetizer...we highly recommend.

I guess that is a long way to explain the spotty posting. That and blogger issues.

May's Remaining Reservations...

15 Newton Slawson ...Florida
15 Bruce Jacobs...Texas
21 Eric Moore...Texas
27 Roderick Johnson...Pennsylvania
27 Robert Knighton...Oklahoma
28 Percy Walton...Virginia
29 Glenn Holladay...Alabama
29 Gilbert Jones...Pennsylvania

Dining Delay in Ohio...

The highlights....

Execution delayed by Ohio Supreme Court

CINCINNATI (AP) The execution of a convicted killer has been delayed for six weeks while his attorneys argue for another trial.

Jerome Campbell's execution, which has been pending since 1989, had been set for May 14. The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed it to June 27 to allow time for Campbell's request for a new trial to be considered.

Defense lawyers are challenging the testimony of two jailhouse informants and the state's use of bloody gym shoes as evidence. They say DNA tests showed that blood on Campbell's tennis shoes was his, not the victim’s.

Campbell, 41, was convicted of aggravated murder and aggravated burglary in the 1988 stabbing of Henry Turner, 78, a bootlegger who sold alcohol and cigarettes from his Cincinnati apartment.

POETRY TIME AT DME.COM...Bongos recommended....

We typed in the address for deadmaneating.com at Rob's Amazing Poem Generator and we were moved by the result...

Dead Man Eating...Last meal! eating
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Be fried, indeed...