A recently executed death row inmate wasn’t allowed a final meal due an incident that occurred back in 2011.
Arthur Lee Burton, now 54, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Nancy Adleman in 1997.
He was executed by lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, Texas, after over two decades on Wednesday (7 August).
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Texas death row inmate Arthur Lee Burton was not given a final meal. (Getty Stock Image)
The death row inmate confessed to the murder of the mother-of-three, then 48, while she was out on a jog in Houston. Though he later argued that his confession should not have been used in the trial.
Adleman’s body was discovered the next day in a shallow grave near the Brays Bayou river.
According to court records, Burton had admitted to raping the victim, before strangling her with her own shoelaces. He later told a prison psychologist that he just ‘couldn’t help’ doing it.
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A jury found Burton guilty in 1998 and he became the third inmate to be executed in the southern US state this year, and the 11th in the country.
However, the infamous final meal was not offered to him or the two other Texan death row inmates for a reason that dates back to September 2011.
Burton was the third inmate executed in Texas this year. (Steve Campbell/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Lawrence Russell Brewer is most likely the most hated man on death row in Texas, after his actions prior to his execution on 21 September, 2011.
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He had been behind bars for 13 years up to that point, with all the time in the world to um and ah over what his final meal could be, as it was a ritual that had been in place in Texas since 1924 – though each state has its own laws.
The idea behind it is that a death row inmate is allowed to have one last meal before their execution, which can be anything they want.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Brewer wanted a bowl of fried okra with ketchup, two chicken steaks with gravy and onions, and a cheese omelette with ground beef, jalapeños and bell peppers – but there’s more.
It was also reported that he wanted: “A triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, three fajitas, one pound of barbecue and a half loaf of white bread, pizza meat lover’s special, one pint of ‘homemade vanilla’ Blue Bell ice cream, one slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts and three root beers.”
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However, when it all arrived, the 44-year-old claimed he wasn’t hungry and refused to eat any of it.
Brewer waited for 13 years to humiliate the authorities. (Getty Stock Image)
Keen not to let any other death row inmates make a mockery of the justice system with their last meal again, Senator John Whitmire decided to get rid of the tradition altogether – so now, they simply eat what’s being served in the prison cafeteria that day.
Despite his arrest in 1997, Burton initially denied his involvement in the murder, but when evidence came to the fore, authorities began to poke holes in his story.
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He then confessed, and in 2004, admitted in writing to everything that he was charged for.
Before his death, as per USA Today, Burton’s final words were: “I want to say thank you to all the people who support me and pray for me.
“For those of you I know and do not know, thank you for your support and prayers.
“And a full circle to all the guys at the Polunsky Unit [prison], I love you guy … Bird is going home.”
He added: “To all the people I have hurt and caused pain, I wish we didn’t have to be here at this moment, but I want you to know that I am sorry for putting y’all through this and my family.
“I’m not better than anyone. I hope that I find peace and y’all can, too.”
Featured Image Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice/Getty Stock Image
Topics: Crime, Death Row, US News
