(Newser)
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Brian Price made the Texas Department of Criminal Justice an offer they seemingly couldn't refuse—but refuse it they did. The former inmate, who himself cooked 220 final meals before being released, volunteered to cook the last meals for condemned inmates after hearing the state had canceled the tradition. And he said he would do it for free, reports the AP. "I am offering to prepare, and/or pay for, all of the last meal requests from this day forward," said Price. "Taxpayers will be out nothing."
What did Texas think of his "kind offer"? "It's not the cost but rather the concept we're moving away from," says Department of Criminal Justice rep. So thanks, but no. How did Price find his culinary niche? The AP reports that while working as a prison cook, he volunteered to make a last meal in 1991 when the other cooks shied away from the task. The condemned inmate reportedly sent his compliments to the chef. Price handled the last-meal duties until 2003.
