A book of more than 40 photographs, Jacquelyn C. Black has created a powerful work focused on death row inmates and what they chose as their last meal before being executed. Combined with last words of the condemned, each left and right set of pages features a photo of the person and what they ate. Focused on inmates in Texas, among the photos and meals is that of Karla Faye Tucker.

Some apologize for their crimes. Others cling to a claim of innocence. Background information such as education level and job at the time of arrest is often included, making the book an eerily disturbing work. Information about the death penalty is sprinkled through the book, from statistics on countries with the highest number of executions (the U.S. ranks third, ahead of Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia); to the statistic that 12 states do not have the death penalty; and that 10 of those have homicide rates below the national average.

The sparse nature of the statistics and text leaves the photos of last meal to create a powerful emotional reaction.

Jacquelyn C. Black grew up in Louisiana, Texas, and Tampa, Florida. She went to school at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her work has been exhibited in Boston and at the Alternative Museum in New York City where she currently resides and works as a freelance photographer.

This rigorously stylish book makes it impossible to forget the people behind the statistics - those who have been executed and those currently on death row. Through a combination of facts and photography (mug shots, recreated last meals), Black creates a meditation on the humble human quality of those sentenced to death.

We all eat. But the choices of those about to be killed by the state reveal how few choices they have had in life; last meals of hamburgers and fried foods prevail. Even on the last day of life, their choices remain limited: the ingredients for a requested last meal must be available in the prison kitchen

This starkly elegant book will make you think about the role that we, as U.S. citizens, play in capital punishment. Even if you think that your mind is made up about capital punishment, pro or con you will find yourself reconsidering your relationship to those executed.


Provocative and Intriguing   May 5, 2003
I found the stark , Vermeer-like images of the meals beautiful and creepy at the same time. To see the convicteds' lives reduced to an apple, or a glass of water is truly chilling.
Ms. Black does not put forth a heavy handed social agenda but rather presents simple facts on the state of how capital punishment is carried out in this country and allows her reader to come to their own conclusions. A great book for anyone intrested in how art intersects social commentary.