Amnesty International and Reprieve speak out over Death Row Dinners
Bad taste: Pop-up restaurant Death Row Dinners
A death row-themed pop-up restaurant due to open in Hoxton Square has been slammed as being in “appallingly bad taste” by human rights organisation Amnesty International.
Clive Stafford-Smith, director of Reprieve, a high-profile international group which campaigns against the death penalty and supports prisoners on death row said the concept made him feel “nauseous”.
Death Row Dinners sparked a huge backlash on social media this week after it offered customers the chance to “enjoy the idea of the last meal, without the nasty execution bit” at a cost of £50 a ticket.
The pop-up restaurant originally issued an apology on its website stating: “We’re shocked and saddened by the response to Death Row Dinners and are genuinely very sorry for any offence caused.”
However in a new statement issued today, the organiser behind Death Row Dinners has backtracked on his apology, announcing the pop-up event will now go ahead, arguing that “all over the world there are attractions that have the potential to offend”.
The new statement reads: “The severity of the reaction is not at all surprising in the current world of instant outrage but cancelling the event only supports this short-termism currently infecting the population.”
“The world is full of personal opinion and niche experiences and we believe there is a place for an experience like this. All over the world there are attractions that have the potential to offend. Some people go for a walk in the park, others go on a Jack The Ripper walk of London.
“Like it or not, the concept of a last meal is a sociological phenomenon. Whether innocent or guilty, death row prisoners have no freedom of choice about any part of their lives except for this final decision.”
The premise of the Hoxton pop-up has attracted a wave of criticism online.
@DeathRowDinners using pictures of people who were executed with “menus” round their necks, how on earth did you think that was okay?!
— Primrose Prints (@PrimrosePrints) September 16, 2014
Nauseous
Reprieve Director, Clive Stafford Smith, said: “I totally support the right of anyone to do things that others consider tasteless if they have a mind to do it, and nothing better to do.”
“In terms of my own small contribution to the discussion, I have watched six of my clients die – two each in the gas chamber, the electric chair and the lethal injection gurney. I, and others at Reprieve, continue to assist many others who face execution.”
“The whole notion of a final meal is both one of the most absurd and the most emblematic elements of the death row protocol.”
“These silly rituals are created by those who execute in order to create a process that masks the horror of what they are doing. Frankly, while I welcome the discourse, the very idea of going to a restaurant that serves death row dinners makes me feel nauseous.”
Amnesty Spokesperson Niall Couper said: “We thought Death Row Dinners had to be a spoof, it’s hard to believe someone would choose that as a theme in real life.
“The restaurant theme is in appallingly bad taste. I can’t think of anything more likely to put you off your food.”