Death row dinners: A look into the last meals of Oklahoma's executed inmates

MCALESTER, Okla. (KOKH) — A cherry pie, sweet and smokey beans, fried okra, and barbecued meats were among the foods given to Jemaine Cannon before he was executed Thursday morning.

People have had a macabre fascination with death row inmates' last meals in recent years, sparking inspiration for art exhibits and podcasts.

The only limitation to a death row inmate's last meal request in Oklahoma is that it must be less than $25. Florida has a higher price point of $40, but the food must be available locally.

Steak is a popular choice of last-meal requests across the nation, along with pizza and ice cream.

Here are some interesting last meals served at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in recent years.

Charles Warner

Charles Warner was the first inmate to be executed after the state botched the execution of Clayton Lockett in 2014.

Lockett died 43 minutes after being sedated, and witnesses said he writhed, groaned and convulsed on the gurney. An investigation found a misplaced IV lead to his violent and long death.

Nearly a year later, Charles Warner said "my body is on fire" before he died from lethal injection.

He had a simple last meal request: KFC, a Big Mac, gummy worms, a fruit cocktail cup, potato wedges, coleslaw, and coke.

This last meal came at a time when the monetary limit was set at $15.

Warner was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of an 11-month-old baby.

Clayton Lockett

Before Clayton Lockett's botched execution, he did not have a last meal.

The reason: his request surpassed the $15 limit.

Lockett had requested a specific kind of steak known as "chateaubriand", where a large cut of tenderloin is grilled between two lesser pieces of meat that are then discarded after cooking.

He was sentenced to death for the torturous death of Stephanie Neiman in 1999.

John Grant

John Grant was executed on October 28, 2021, the first execution after a years-long pause on the death penalty in Oklahoma due to a series of mishaps.

Though Corrections officials said his execution went off "without complication", media witnesses, like KOKH's Dan Snyder, said he convulsed and regurgitated multiple times.

Grant's last meal: two bacon cheeseburgers, barbecue chips, and a 2-liter bottle of Pibb Extra.

He was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of prison cafeteria worker Gay Carter.

Benjamin Cole

Benjamin Cole's last request was different than most.

Corrections officials said he was served a "religious meal" of vegetarian lasagna, salad, tortilla and fruit drink packet.

Cole was executed in October 2022 after being convicted in 2002 for the murder of his 9-month-old daughter.

Richard Glossip

Richard Glossip has been served three last meals, yet he's still alive.

His execution has been stopped three times, the most recent in 2015 when the state realized one of the drugs used in the three-drug cocktail for lethal injection was wrong.

Glossip was in the waiting room next to the death chamber when he received a stay of execution in 2015.

Among the items in his three "last" meals: A Baconator sandwich from Wendy's, a pizza, a strawberry shake and fish and chips.

Glossip and his attorneys are still fighting execution, one the Oklahoma Attorney General even believes shouldn't move forward.

He was convicted in the 1997 murder-for-hire plot of his boss, Barry Van Treese.