Tenn. prison not set up for pizza delivery

NASHVILLE, May 10 (UPI) -- Prison officials in Tennessee say they had no procedure for granting a cop-killer's last request to send a vegetarian pizza to a homeless shelter.

Philip Workman, who was put to death early Wednesday at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, opted out of a last meal. His decision to donate his meal has brought national attention and a lot of criticism, The Nashville Tennessean reported.

It has also brought pizzas to a Nashville shelters, donated by people across the country. Some radio hosts have asked listeners to make the gifts.

Dorinda Carter, a spokeswoman for the state corrections department, said final meals are prepared inside the prison and cannot be ordered from an outside eatery. She said that making an outside delivery would have meant taking a guard off his post.

She said she has received only three non-media calls, two from critics. The third person wanted to know how to send a pizza to a shelter but agreed taxpayer money should not be used for the purpose.

"We have to account for every penny," she said.