Morbidly overweight Death Row prisoner’s ultimate meal was precisely what you’d anticipate it to be

A morbidly obese 380lbs Death Row inmate whose lawyers claimed he was “too overweight for a lethal injection” has been successfully executed despite fears it wouldn’t work.

The massive Florida inmate, Michael Tanzi, was branded a “fledgling serial killer” and was executed after indulging in a last meal some would say was expected for a man of his stature. Prior to the execution the the morbidly obese man indulged himself on a hefty final meal of pork chops, bacon, ice cream and a candy bar.

The criminal was convicted of the brutal kidnapping and murder of Janet Acosta, a Miami Herald employee, 24 years ago in 2003. Acosta was on her lunch break when Tanzi brutally murdered her after asking her for a cigarette before repeatedly punching her.

Tanzi stole the woman’s car, driving it from Miami to Homestead in the early hours of the morning. After stealing the woman’s money and credit card he drove her to an isolated location and killed her.

When he was caught, Tanzi confessed to officers: “If I had let her go, I was gonna get caught quicker. I didn’t want to get caught. I was having too much fun … I told her, I says, ‘I can’t let you go. If I let you go, then I’m gonna be in a lot of trouble.'”

Tanzi was found guilty of first-degree murder, carjacking, kidnapping and armed robbery, leading to a unanimous 12-0 jury recommendation for the death penalty.

Following the execution of the morbidly obese killer, Acosta’s family expressed their relief that their long ordeal had finally come to an end. Julie Andrew, Acosta’s sister who witnessed the execution, said: “It’s done. Basically, justice for Janet happened. My heart felt lighter and I can breathe again.”

Janet Vanderwier, Acosta’s niece, pointed out that it took almost 25 years to find closure. She said: “This is the culmination of more than two decades of work to get justice for Janet.”

In his final statement, with his voice barely audible, Tanzi said: “I want to apologise to the family” before reciting a verse from the Bible as the drugs started to take effect.

Tanzi also admitted to killing another woman in Brockton, Massachusetts, named Caroline Holder, a few months prior to killing Acosta.

This is not the first instance of a morbidly obese inmate being sent to Death Row. In 1985 the state of Ohio had a massive 450-pound prisoner on their hands whose massive weight posed a problem.

Ronald Post’s lawyers said: “Given his unique physical and mental condition there is a substantial risk that any attempt to execute him will result in serious physical and psychological pain to him, as well as an execution involving a torturous and lingering death.”

In 2011, Post – the 450-pound prisoner – ultimately died of natural causes as many accused post of ballooning up to the massive weight to escape the federal execution.