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A solitary olive, a fast-food binge... and a birthday cake: The bizarre last meals of death row killers before they face execution

Published: 17:22 EST, 14 August 2012 | Updated: 11:07 EST, 15 August 2012

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Even though they have been condemned to die for their crimes, the humanity of offering a death row prisoner a final meal fascinates like few other requests.

Inspired by the forgiving gesture, Julia Ziegler-Haynes, a Brooklyn-based artist, has exhaustively trawled through the public records of death row inmates and selected 24 last meals, painstakingly recreated them and then photographed them.

Produced for a book known as 'Today's Special', each one was cooked and prepared to the exact recorded likings and specifications of each prisoner, from a fast food blow-out to a single un-pitted black olive.

The last meal on November 4th, 2005 of Hastings Arthur Wise: A lobster tail, French fries, coleslaw, banana pudding and milk. Wise, 51, was executed by lethal injection in Columbia, South Carolina for the murders of a 27 year old woman, and three men ages 56, 30 and 31. Wise spent 4 years on death row

Hastings Arthur Wise is one of the death row inmates mentioned in Julia Ziegler-Haynes 'Today's Special' book about the final meals of death row inmates

'Essentially, these prisoners had become guests in my home. And so, despite having been immersed in the hideous details of each crime, I repeatedly found myself feeling empathetic towards them. Especially those whose requests were so meager,' states Ziegler-Haynes.

For example, one photograph depicts a black un-pitted olive, another, a single cup of coffee.

The last meal of Jackie Lee Willingham who was executed on July 24th, 2003: Fettuccine Alfredo, a small deep-dish pepperoni pizza, breadsticks and two Peppermint Patties

The last meal of Peter J. Miniel eaten on October 6th, 2004: Twenty beef tacos, twenty beef enchiladas, two double cheeseburgers, a pizza with jalapeños, fried chicken, spaghetti with salt, a small fruit cake, half of a chocolate cake, half of a vanilla cake, cookies-n-cream ice cream, caramel pecan fudge ice cream, two Coca-Colas, two Pepsi-Colas, two root beers and two orange juices.

Jackie Lee Willingham, 33, (left) was executed by lethal injection on June 24, 2003 in McAlester, Oklahoma for the murder of a 62 year old woman. Willingham spent 8 years on death row. Peter J. Miniel, 42, (right) was executed by lethal injection on October 6, 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a 21 year old man. Miniel spent 16 years on death row.

Having been planning her photographic project for the past decade, the sculptor and printmaker shot her meals from the vantage point of the diner.

This placed the viewer in the place of the condemned man and to help them think about what could possibly have been going through their mind as they ate their meal.

Her visual aesthetic is inspired by Christian Boltanskiʼs Compositions décoratives (1976), and significantly influenced by the food styling from that era with its faded backdrops and unappetizing simplicity – likened to food images from the windows of cheap restaurants.

Envisioning how each meal would appear served in the prisons, Ziegler-Haynes then juxtaposed her versions against vibrant backgrounds to liven what she assumed to be the opposite of their actual presentation.

The last meal of Robert Anthony Buell who was executed on September 24th, 2002: A single black, unpitted olive

The last meal of James Rexford Powell who was executed on October 1st, 2002: One pot of coffee

Robert Anthony Buell, 62, (left) was executed by lethal injection on September 24, 2002 in Lucasville, Ohio for the murder of a 11 year old girl. Buell spent 8 years on death row. James Rexford Powell, 56, (left) was executed by lethal injection on October 1, 2002 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a 10 year old girl. Powell spent 11 years on death row.

'I imagine, for instance, they serve frozen hamburger patties on commercially made buns,' she states.

For the artist the concept of the last meal is something that is too engrained in American culture.

'I will never fully understand the hypocrisy of fulfilling someone's last wishes only to take their life the very next day,' said Ziegler-Haynes.

'It's a confusing gesture.

'It almost feels like the last meal does more for the executioner than it does for the inmate: a clearing of the conscience.'

'Today's Special' is printed and published by the OHWOW Gallery in New York City

To buy the book please visit here: http://store.oh-wow.com/item.html/1363097

The last meal of Lewis Eugene Gilbert who was executed on July `st, 2003: A half-gallon of vanilla ice cream, a box of Whoppers and a box of assorted ice cream cones

The last meal of David Leon Woods who was executed on May 4th, 2007: Pizza and birthday cake

David Leon Woods, 42, (left) was executed by lethal injection on May 4, 2007 in Michigan City, Indiana for the murder of a 77 year old man. Woods spent 22 years on death row. Lewis Eugene Gilbert, II, 31, (right) was executed by lethal injection on June 1, 2003 in McAlester, Oklahoma for the murder of a 37 year old woman. Gilbert spent 7 years on death row.