A death row inmate in the United States (US) requested to exchange his last meal for a cigarette. However, his request was denied by prison guards who noted that it was bad for his health.
Clive Stafford Smith, a human rights lawyer, told British news outlet LADbible the unusual story of his inmate client, Nicholas Lee Ingram, who was executed using an electric chair in April 1995.
Source: LADbible on YouTube
Nicholas, who Mr Smith referred to as his friend for 12 years, was sentenced to death for committing a robbery that resulted in the death of a 55-year-old man and the wounding of his wife in 1983, reports The Mirror.
Recounting events from 40 years ago, Mr Smith said Nicholas declined to have a last meal, saying he was about to die.
Instead, he told the guards that he could use a cigarette.
However, the guards allegedly denied his request, stating it was bad for his health.
Source: The Mirror
Baffled by the guards’ reasoning, Mr Smith exposed their actions to the media, leaving them humiliated.
Eventually, they agreed to give Nicholas a last cigarette before the execution.
Mr Smith said he and Nicholas were born in the same hospital — Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge — and was saddened to watch the latter die.
He shared that Nicholas’ execution left an impression even until today.
“I still have PTSD from that. If I close my eyes right now, I can see the black and white of him being electrocuted in front of me,” he told the LADbible.
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Featured image adapted from The Mirror and LADbible on YouTube.