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Death row inmate requests steak, chicken, pork chop for last meal

J.W. Ledford, scheduled for execution in Georgia on Tuesday, wants to die via firing squad. Georgia Department of Corrections via Associated Press
 
 

JACKSON COUNTY, Ga. — A killer has chosen a large meal for his last supper before he is set to die by lethal injection.

J.W. Ledford is scheduled to be executed Tuesday night at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia.

The Department of Corrections on Thursday released Ledford’s requested menu: filet mignon wrapped in bacon with pepper Jack cheese, large French fries, 10 chicken tenders with sauce, fried pork chop, bloomin’ onion, pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, sherbert and Sprite.

Ledford has been on death row for 25 years. He was convicted of murder and other crimes in the death of an elderly neighbor, Dr. Harry Buchanan Johnston Jr., in Murray County, Georgia, on Jan. 31, 1992.

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He previously requested to die by firing squad, claiming the lethal injection drug pentobarbital might not render him unconscious, causing him "to suffer an excruciating death."

The Georgia attorney general's office responded, saying there was no proof a firing squad would be less painful and contended there was "no substantial risk" he would suffer severe pain in a Georgia execution by lethal injection.

"Plaintiff has waited until the eve of his execution to suddenly claim that he has been treated for pain with medication that will allegedly interfere with his execution," the state's lawyers wrote. "If plaintiff really thought the firing squad was a reasonable alternative he could have alerted the State years, instead of 5 days, before his execution."

Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah allow a firing squad to be used for executions, although lethal injection is the primary method in all three states, according to the Death Penalty Information Center website.

Information from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Associated Press was used in this report.