Death row inmate’s final meal request that was so bizarre it was denied by prison guards
ArchiveFirst published May 25, 2025. It may not reflect later developments.
James Edward Smith, convicted of murdering insurance worker Larry Don Rohus during a 1983 armed robbery, was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1990.
On the day of his execution, Smith was asked to choose his final meal—a tradition for death row inmates. But his chilling request left prison staff stunned. Instead of food, he asked for “rhaeakunda dirt”, a type of soil used in voodoo rituals. Smith believed it would aid in his reincarnation.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied the request, stating dirt wasn’t on the approved food list. In response, Smith allegedly threatened to haunt the prison for 300 years. His final words were “Hare Krishna” before his execution in Huntsville, Texas.
Smith’s unusual case is one of the few where a last meal request was rejected. In 2011, Texas ended the tradition entirely after white supremacist Lawrence Brewer made a massive meal request—then refused to eat it. The move marked the end of a long-standing death row ritual seen by many as outdated.
