Death row man's extravagant last meal: Steak, lobster, burger, cake ...
A man scheduled for a lethal injection in Georgia has ordered his final meal.
And it’s a tall order.
Ray Jefferson Cromartie, 52, was convicted of malice murder and set for execution for the April 1994 killing of 50-year-old convenience store clerk Richard Slysz in Thomasville.
For his last meal, WSB-TV in Atlanta reports, he ordered a steak, lobster, mac and cheese, cube steak, a steak and cheese sandwich, rice and gravy, a double cheeseburger, french fries (with a side of ranch dressing), and a strawberry milkshake. To top it all off, he asked for a layered cake with white icing.
Quite a feast.
Cromartie continues to insist he did not shoot Slysz or another store clerk the state says he shot days earlier. His attorneys have requested the courts allow DNA testing they claim could prove Cromartie wasn’t the killer.
Last month, a judge determined it’s unlikely DNA testing would change the verdict. He also said Cromartie failed to prove he wasn’t simply trying to put off his execution. The Georgia Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the ruling. He would be the third person executed by Georgia this year.
Now, Cromartie’s extravagant request for a last meal isn’t unique.
In 2011, Steven Michael Woods Jr., sentenced to death for the capital murders of a young drug dealer and his wife, requested 2 pounds of bacon, a large four-meat pizza, four fried chicken breasts, two drinks (each) of Mountain Dew, Pepsi, root beer and sweet tea, 2 pints of ice cream, five chicken fried steaks, two hamburgers with bacon, french fries, and a dozen garlic bread sticks with marinara on the side.
When notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy was set to be executed, he asked for a dozen fried shrimp, a bucket of original-recipe KFC chicken, french fries, and a pound of strawberries.
In 1999, Joseph Mitchell Parsons was executed in Utah. His final meal request? Three Burger King Whoppers, two large orders of french fries, chocolate chip ice cream, a chocolate shake, and a pack of grape Hubba Bubba bubble gum.
And in 1992, just before Robert Alton Harris was put down for the murder of two teen boys, he asked for a 21-piece bucket of KFC chicken, two large Domino’s Pizzas, ice cream, a bag of jelly beans, a six-pack of Pepsi, and a pack of Camel cigarettes.
Chris Pastrick is a TribLive digital producer. An Allegheny County native, he began working for the Valley News Dispatch in 1993 and joined the Trib in 1997. He can be reached at cpastrick@triblive.com.
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