The Last Meal, "I will leave this for tommorow..."
You wake up at 6.30 am. You bathe and get ready. You meet them at 7am outside your door. You sit down before them at 7.06 am. You die at 7.16 am. This was the last day of Ted Bundy, who was sentenced to the electric chair for serial killing and rape.
When we usually get up in the morning, even the most unmotivated of us would feel at least a bit of anticipation about the new day. What the day would hold, what you could look forward to, how to get through the events you dreaded, etc. Can you imagine waking at 6am, fully knowing waking up that early in the morning, had absolutely no benefit to you, that your heartbeat had to be abruptly halted in a few minutes?It is then when the new day means nothing to you, when you leave everyone behind to continue with their life journeys, while you are forced to leave yours.
Death row prisoners are usually given a last meal a day or two before they are executed. The contents of this meal are entirely determined by the prisoner, and the authorities do their best to fulfil his wishes. There has been word though that suggests that sometimes the prisoners do not get what exactly they had ordered, instead they are made to make do with cheaper or more accessible alternatives.
I had always assumed that the last meal was just a nice gesture to the prisoner who was about to die.It was when I had gone to the Biennale, that I realised there was alot of significance attached to this procedure. Firstly it was to make the prisoner accept his fate, and agree that it was indeed his last meal he was eating and secondly it was to ensure that he does not haunt those who were directly or indirectly responsible for his execution after his death. It was a form of coercing the prisoner to submit to the status quo and not grieve or cry out that he was wronged. There have been prisoners who have not accepted this meal. Ted Bundy was one of them.
Another rather disturbing account of a prisoner and his last meal was about this mentally challenged prisoner being treated to his last meal. He ate everything but left the ice-cream alone. When the guards asked him why he wasnt touching his cream, he replied, "Oh I am leaving it for tomorrow", like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered, totally oblivious of its impending doom.
There have been inferences to the Last Supper from the Bible regarding the last meal for prisoners about to be executed. Actually, the last supper was a festive meal, taken on the passover day, a Jewish Festival, it was only entitled last supper after Jesus was crucified the next day. Besides only Jesus knew when he was about to be taken; the meal was not administered to him as a last meal. What I mean to say is, Jesus did not accept any blame of any sort and therefore did not take that meal as his 'last' meal which was 'granted' to him. He was in fact blameless and the accusations brought against him were groundless. He was crucified without even a fair trial.
Which brings me to Saddam Hussein. He has just been sentenced to death after a public trial. Do you think he would accept his last meal? Would he even be given his last meal?
You wake up at 6.30 am. You bathe and get ready. You meet them at 7am outside your door. You sit down before them at 7.06 am. You die at 7.16 am. This was the last day of Ted Bundy, who was sentenced to the electric chair for serial killing and rape.
When we usually get up in the morning, even the most unmotivated of us would feel at least a bit of anticipation about the new day. What the day would hold, what you could look forward to, how to get through the events you dreaded, etc. Can you imagine waking at 6am, fully knowing waking up that early in the morning, had absolutely no benefit to you, that your heartbeat had to be abruptly halted in a few minutes?It is then when the new day means nothing to you, when you leave everyone behind to continue with their life journeys, while you are forced to leave yours.
Death row prisoners are usually given a last meal a day or two before they are executed. The contents of this meal are entirely determined by the prisoner, and the authorities do their best to fulfil his wishes. There has been word though that suggests that sometimes the prisoners do not get what exactly they had ordered, instead they are made to make do with cheaper or more accessible alternatives.
I had always assumed that the last meal was just a nice gesture to the prisoner who was about to die.It was when I had gone to the Biennale, that I realised there was alot of significance attached to this procedure. Firstly it was to make the prisoner accept his fate, and agree that it was indeed his last meal he was eating and secondly it was to ensure that he does not haunt those who were directly or indirectly responsible for his execution after his death. It was a form of coercing the prisoner to submit to the status quo and not grieve or cry out that he was wronged. There have been prisoners who have not accepted this meal. Ted Bundy was one of them.
Another rather disturbing account of a prisoner and his last meal was about this mentally challenged prisoner being treated to his last meal. He ate everything but left the ice-cream alone. When the guards asked him why he wasnt touching his cream, he replied, "Oh I am leaving it for tomorrow", like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered, totally oblivious of its impending doom.
There have been inferences to the Last Supper from the Bible regarding the last meal for prisoners about to be executed. Actually, the last supper was a festive meal, taken on the passover day, a Jewish Festival, it was only entitled last supper after Jesus was crucified the next day. Besides only Jesus knew when he was about to be taken; the meal was not administered to him as a last meal. What I mean to say is, Jesus did not accept any blame of any sort and therefore did not take that meal as his 'last' meal which was 'granted' to him. He was in fact blameless and the accusations brought against him were groundless. He was crucified without even a fair trial.
Which brings me to Saddam Hussein. He has just been sentenced to death after a public trial. Do you think he would accept his last meal? Would he even be given his last meal?
posted by The Sch O Hard Knockx at 1:07 PM
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