The Last Supper: 'It humanized death row'
EUGENE, Ore. -- For nearly a decade, artist Julie Green has been painting the last meal request of those on death row who have been executed in the United States.
Green's artwork is now on display at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon until April 7.
"The inmates are limited to what's in a prison pantry in most of the states," said Green. "People often comment when they view this show how modest the requests are. There's no Godiva chocolate. There's no sushi."
The project began when she lived in Oklahoma and read about the final meals in the newspaper. Some of the meals requested are pizza, hamburgers, fish, sandwiches. Others are simpler like vending machine candy, water. Some do not request a final meal.
"It humanized death row. Prior to that, death row was one of the many societal problems I saw," said Green.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports there have been 1,324 executions in the U.S. since 1976. Green has painted around 500 plates, and she says she plans on painting plates until the death penalty is abolished.
"This is an odd practice, to have a final meal. I've asked prisons why they have that, and they say its because we always have," said Green. She says she thinks she knows why they exist. "It gives the prison something positive to think about on the day of an execution."
"Whatever your stance on capital punishment, execution..it's not an easy task i'm sure," Green said.
Green hopes her art will get the conversations going on capital punishment. "I just put it out there and hope people will think about it."
So Liberals want to get rid of the death penalty.I can tell the Liberals how to win.Allow us to mean what we say when we say "life in prison".Did you know there was a legal distinction between "life in prison" and "true life in prison"?The death penalty is not about revenge, or even the severity of the punishment, but permanently separating homicidal animals from decent society.If we consistently put (premeditated) murderers away for the rest of their lives, practically no one would stand for the death penalty.Folks would eat their waffles, drink their coffee and go vote the death penalty into oblivion tomorrow morning.The problem is the liberal groups who consistently advocate for the release of murderers who have spent decades in prison because they are old and sick, and if we leave them there, they'll die in prison, which is ostensibly too cruel a punishment.Sending them to prison until they grew old and died was supposed to be the point, serving as an example to whoever would think they could mimic such crimes and not incur a dire penalty.Allow us to separate violent criminals from society for (meaningfully) effective amounts of time, and premeditated murderers for the true remainder of their lives and the death penalty will go away.
@LaurenLeeNews Mine would be ribs and cheesecake. Also onion rings.
@KvalAl Gotta have the cheesecake.
Dear Professor Green:
You humanize murderers and insult their innocent murdered victims
For relevance and impact, please paint the crime scene photos of the murdered victims and put them next to their corresponding last meal plates.
Or,paint  the innocent murder victims' last meal:
Drano or other caustic drink
Oral rape
etc
Some of those cases: Victim's Voices
http://www.murdervictims.com/Voices/voices.html
Pay For View firing squad executions, with the profits going to the victim's families. Gun companies could be sponsors, the NRA could be the host organization, and they could have a "surprise guest" like Dick Cheney on the firing squad. Lars Larson could MC the whole thing.  Â
If we're going to kill people, let's exploit it. That's what makes America exceptional.  Â
Paint plates of the faces affected by the crimes those people committed. Â Put pictures of the crime scene on them.Â
Lets not get too teary eyed for death row inmates.
I'm certain this is one of those women that marry death row inmates.Â
I wouldn't even give this so called "news" a place on the website.Â
Oh brother, what a waste of plates.Â
There should be more executions. Get rid of the scumbags!!!Â
"just saying"
The defective set of cells that usually sit on death row lost any humanity they ever had sometime prior to their killing spree.
"People often comment when they view this show how modest the requests are. There's no Godiva chocolate. There's no sushi."
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Is this some kind of sick joke?
There sure as heck was no chocolate or sushi final meals offered by these homicidal freaks to their victims as they pleaded for their lives.
Here is an idea for "artist Julie Green": paint these murderers' victims... desperately gasping their final breaths in terror and pain at the hands of these psychos.
"Artist", my rear end. She is a a heartless, disgusting idiot.
@oregoncraig Couldn't have said it better myself.