Even those unfamiliar with the specifics of executions know that inmates receive a last meal of their choice. Some people, like Gary Carl Simmons, ordered a final meal of nearly 30,000 calories in 2012, including two pizzas, McDonald’s French fries, two pints of ice cream, and much more. Others, like Velma Barfield, asked for nothing more than a Coca-cola and a bag of Cheez Doodles before her end came in 1984.
Ted Bundy, however, didn’t make any specific requests. And so, he was given Florida State Prison’s default final meal, something akin to a breakfast you might find in front of a hefty eater in a New England diner: steak, eggs, hash browns, toast with jam and butter, coffee, and juice. But rather than chowing down, Bundy didn’t touch it at all.
By itself, it’s not necessarily troubling that Bundy didn’t eat his final meal. In fact, some people might cheer or jeer at the fact, or say that Bundy didn’t deserve the food. But when taken in light of the rest of Bundy’s final hours — spent crying, praying, calling his mother, etc. — it’s a bit disturbing to imagine him, or anyone, sitting in a cell awaiting an appointed death time, terrified and possibly nauseous, unable to lift a hand to touch one’s food. That is if this is the reason why Bundy didn’t eat.
