Peter J. Miniel was convicted of the brutal October 1986 robbery and capital murder of a Houston resident. Miniel and an accomplice attacked the victim inside his apartment, striking him repeatedly with a blunt object, slashing his throat, and stabbing him over 30 times before stealing electronics and cash.

Miniel spent 17 years navigating the Texas appellate courts before his execution was executed at the Huntsville Unit on October 6, 2004. Miniel’s final meal request is preserved in corrections department archives as one of the most resource-intensive menus ever fulfilled by a prison kitchen team.

Miniel submitted a massive, multi-page order containing roughly forty distinct food items, which required the coordination of multiple kitchen workers:

Unlike Lawrence Russell Brewer, who ordered a large menu in 2011 to deliberately waste it, reports indicate that Miniel consumed a significant portion of his massive meal spread during his final hours in the holding block.

This case served as a critical early case study for Texas prison administrators regarding the operational costs and labor requirements of final meal requests. While it did not cause an immediate ban in 2004, the logistical burden of fulfilling this 40-item order accelerated internal pushback that eventually led to the total policy ban seven years later.