Camilla Jessen
Texas death-row inmate wanted dirt, not food, as final request.
Before his execution in Texas, convicted murderer James Edward Smith made a final-meal request so unusual that staff refused to fulfil it.
Smith asked for a lump of ritual dirt. According to news reports, the request was linked to spiritual beliefs he hoped would aid his reincarnation.
A violent crime
On March 7, 1983, Smith entered the Union National Life Insurance Company in Houston wearing a mask and holding a gun. According to court records, he ordered 44-year-old insurance agent Larry Rohus to place money into a plastic bag.
Despite Rohus pleading for his life, Smith shot him twice, killing him instantly.
Smith, then 37, was arrested, convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
He later claimed he had participated in several “ritualistic” killings, though investigators were unable to verify the claims.
A final request
The night before his scheduled execution in 1984, Smith asked for a pile of “rhaeakunda” dirt, a type of dirt used in voodoo rituals.
His intention, according to reporting from the Express, was to perform a spiritual ceremony he believed would allow him to be reincarnated.
Prison administrators declined the request.
The dirt was not on the approved food list, and staff said it made them deeply uncomfortable.
Instead, Smith received a standard meal, and later — during a second attempt at execution — settled for plain yogurt.
Smith’s first execution date was halted at the last moment, delaying the sentence for two years. When his case returned in 1990, he again requested ritual dirt, and again it was denied.
Final hours and final words
On his execution day, Smith continued to insist he was not responsible for the murder.
“I am not the killer; I myself did not kill anyone,” he said in a statement before receiving a lethal injection.
His last words were reported to be: “Hare Krishna.”
Shortly before the execution, Smith had sought another postponement. Assistant Attorney General Bob Walt later told reporters that leaving a condemned prisoner uncertain until moments before death amounted to psychological cruelty.
Sources: Express; Newsner
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, who may have used AI in the preparation
