KEY POINTS:
The final requests of death-row prisoners have often included large orders of pork chops, fried chicken and buckets of icecream.
An inmate has never wanted his body turned into fish food and fed to goldfish, all in the name of art.
But that's exactly what Gene Hathorn, a
convicted murderer on death row in Texas, has pledged to do if his final appeal fails.
Hathorn, 47, who was convicted of killing his father, stepmother and stepbrother in 1985, has given his consent to Marco Evaristti to use his body as an art installation that contributes to a wider project on capital punishment.
Evaristti, 45, a Chilean-born artist who lives in Denmark, said he would deep-freeze Hathorn's body and then turn it into fish food which visitors at the exhibition could feed to goldfish.
Evaristti aims to begin the work within a year if Hathorn is refused a final appeal. He hopes to stage the show in a US gallery, such as New York's Museum of Modern Art.
"Gene Hathorn's story is a powerful one but it is not his story that is as important for me as the system that exists in a society such as America - the system of killing people like this.
"I wanted to raise awareness that there are people killed legally in Western civilisation."
Evaristti met Hathorn, who has been on death row since 1985, while researching the longest-serving inmates. When he suggested the idea for the art installation, Hathorn apparently smiled and agreed immediately.
"One of the reasons I chose the theme of fish food is because in his court papers, they considered him human trash. He wants to be a part of this art. It's the last thing he can do for society and he views it as positive," he said.
Lawyers doubt Hathorn's will, which makes the artist the heir to his body, is valid.
Evaristti said: "We are confident that we can solve this issue before Hathorn is executed ... I'm fully prepared for the legal situation around Gene."
Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department for Criminal Justice, said a death-row prisoner could name a person to handle disposition of their remains.
Evaristti is helping to raise £125,000 ($330,343) for an investigation into events surrounding Hathorn's conviction, in the hope it may lead to an appeal.
The artist said vital details, such as the sexual abuse Hathorn experienced, wasn't included in court proceedings.
- INDEPENDENT