Morbid Fact Du Jour For February 7, 2011
Today’s Unrehabilitated Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
The story of Joseph Cannon is a prime example of why a person should never take their work home with them. In an effort to keep the troubled 17-year-old out of jail for a charge of burglary, Cannon’s court-appointed attorney asked his sister if Cannon could live with her and do odd jobs around the house to earn his keep, believing that the boy could be rehabilitated. Cannon repaid this act of kindness by shooting the woman to death, attempting to have sex with her, then loading her car up with watches, Russian and Mexican coins, guns and a tennis racket he found in the house. Driving erratically in the stolen car brought him to the attention of local law enforcement officers who captured Cannon after a half-hearted chase. When the body of the murdered woman was discovered shortly afterwards, the teenaged killer was arrested without a struggle.
Cannon, who probably looked more like a cannon ball after his calorie-laden last meal, cried as he was strapped to the lethal injection table for his date with death in Texas on April 22, 1998. He was given a temporary reprieve, however, when one of the needles used to give the injection popped out of his arm, causing officials to clear the execution chamber for a brief recess while another attempt was made to locate a suitable vein. Seventeen minutes later the witnesses were brought back inside and this time the execution was successful.
His last meal consisted of fried chicken, barbequed ribs, baked potato, salad with Italian dressing, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, a chocolate milkshake and iced tea.
Culled from: Last Suppers: Famous Final Meals From Death Row
So how many of you think about what your last meal would consist of? I know I do… I think mine would mostly be sweets – ice cream, cheesecake, something loaded with whipped cream – and I shudder at what arseholes like us would say about me. “Bet they had to cram her in the electric chair… har har!” (Why, yes, I do worry about my post-mortem reputation. Doesn’t everyone?)
Im allergic to alot of food so my last meal would be everything i cant eat, just to give them a hard time.
All of which goes to show that even a law degree and a heart of gold dont’ insure a person against his or her own idiocy.
I think about my Last Meal everytime I have an especially good meal. My Last Menu changes pretty often, but this morning, before I’ve even had breakfast, here’s what I’d like:
Parrot Bay Coconut Shrimp from Red Lobster
the chiliquilis from my favorite Mexican restaurant
spring rolls from the Hong Kong
a loaded bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys
my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs
the French Vanilla coffee from the Royal Farms convenience store
my mom’s coleslaw
homemade hot bread with butter
homemade chocolate chip cookies still hot from the oven
green bean casserole
my friend Roger’s artichoke puffs
my uncle Joe’s black-eyed peas that he makes for New Year’s day
a Jamocha shake from Arby’s
plenty of this diet Coke drink we used to have at the salon where I worked, called I think Diet Twist. Had a lemon flavor in it, but suddenly we could no longer find it in the stores.
and a big hot blueberry cobbler with real whipped cream on it.
But of course, since he was only 17 when he brutally murdered Anne, the anti-execution crowd upholds this as an example of the cruelty of our legal system. God forbid a minor should be executed. Never mind that Anne didn’t get a “lethal injection”, we should all have to pay for his lifetime of upkeep. While, I do agree with them that he shouldn’t have spent over half his life in jail before being executed. They should have executed him years before they did!
Just my two cents:)
I’m anti-death penalty, myself, despite my fascination with it.
1) The biggest reason: Too many innocent people are convicted of crimes in this country. Watch the documentaries The Thin Blue Line and Paradise Lost sometime. They may change your mind.
2) From a socialist perspective, a truly civilized nation doesn’t execute people.
3) It’s much more interesting to keep the killers alive so we can study them rather than turn them into worm food. I’m still sad about the loss of Bundy, Dahmer, and Gacy. What a waste…
4) It’s a much worse punishment to make someone live. If I ever am convicted of a crime, I will hope for the death penalty. It’s by far the easy way out.
5) It costs way more to execute people thanks to our ridiculously drawn out appeals process. And we can ill afford wasting money on such things.
I’m with Sommery.
I think we’re all against executing innocent people, but…
Whaddaya mean, living is harder on them than death? They get free meals, free housing, free medical care, groupies and fan mail, they don’t have to work, most of them can’t function outside prison, and most importantly, they get to relive and enjoy their crimes all they want to. This business I’ve heard about them needing to think about what they’ve done is BS.
http://deadmaneating.blogspot.com/
an interesting read….