If you ever feel hesitant about voicing your dissatisfaction at a restaurant, consider the death row inmate who voiced complaints about his final meal.
Thomas J. Grasso from New York faced the death penalty via lethal injection for committing two separate murders.
Grasso had strangled an 87-year-old woman with her Christmas tree lights, stealing her television and $10.
He and his girlfriend, Lana, had been living with her grandmother, whose house was adjacent to Hilda’s.
Following the murder, Grasso evaded capture and relocated to New York with Lana, where they eventually married.
On July 4, 1991, Grasso killed 81-year-old Leslie Holtz on Staten Island and stole a social security cheque.
New York police arrested Grasso after Leslie’s murder, and he also confessed to murdering Hilda.
Charged with these crimes, Grasso pleaded guilty to both murders and received a 20-years-to-life prison sentence in 1992.
Eventually, Grasso was transferred to death row in Oklahoma for Hilda’s murder.
Death row inmates are entitled to a last meal before their execution.
Although there are tales of extravagant last meals, certain regulations govern what prisoners can request.
For instance, alcohol and tobacco are generally prohibited, though there are exceptions, and there are often spending limits imposed by the state.
Grasso had a substantial order: two dozen clams and mussels, half a dozen spare ribs, and a double cheeseburger from Burger King.
He washed it all down with two strawberry milkshakes and had half a pumpkin pie with strawberries for dessert.
The grand finale was meant to be a tin of SpaghettiOs with meatballs.
However, Grasso had a grievance: his SpaghettiOs were replaced with regular spaghetti.
This substitution clearly struck a nerve with the convicted murderer, who issued four statements to the media.
The first statement was cryptic: “What we call the beginning is often the end, and to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
He then quoted T.S. Eliot and recited a poem he had written about his impending fate.
In his fourth statement, he voiced his primary grievance: “I did not get my SpaghettiOs. I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”
Sheriff Stanley Glanz of Tulsa County described Grasso’s death by lethal injection as ‘very peaceful,’ taking approximately seven minutes.