In the United States your last words mean nothing and are not listened to or at least do not make escape from "legal" execution a possibility. In the case of "lethal injection" one case was postponed recently because a doctor willing to murder a murderer could not be found. Just as in other executions (beheadings) last words have little effect on anyone other than you and God. ALL killers are cowards and nothing excuses their actions no matter the so-called reason for the murder. In the case of a street gang murderer let the person know you are afraid just like they are. Perhaps being honest could result in escape. A street murderer is someone who is incapable of empathy but is totally fear based. Not much you say would result in escape. If the killer is revenge based it's a case of luck whether or not your words reach him or her. You would have to ask the killer about him or herself in an attempt to reach them. Some call it the death penalty others call it murder but it amounts to the same thing. There is no bargaining with a killer who is determined to kill. So much for "civilised" society. Edit - Auntie Em - Murdering anyone makes people sink to the same level. This in no way excuses the guy who murdered your child but murdering him is not the answer. Two wrongs don't make a right. That's why some countries no longer have the death penalty not to mention the fact they have been known to execute the wrong person.

Sex?! I'm not sure exactly what circumstances you are talking about, but if it's some lunatic that has you hostage.... sex. That's the only answer I can think of that would put him in a compromising position... enough of one so that you might have a fighting chance.

The other answers are assuming you are being taken at knife point by a sudden attack, i doubt that the questioner is relating his question to that situation, it is highly unlikely that a sudden attack by an attacker, is going to be met with an enlightened phrase"I'll let you have one last request" so hypothecially, as this occurance doesnt in reality happen, ( at least not in a legal situation), one could ask to retain ones life until a diagnosis of an incurable disease is reckoned, eg: "I am asking to keep my life until I am diagonised with end stage liver disease, or end stage bowel cancer etc etc." If a request was going to be allowed, then, by all rights, this request could enable you to save your life,until such time, that you may ( or may not) become disabled with an incurable disease.

Assuming that the person is REALLY going to grant me my last request, I would say the following...... "Please don't kill me!" This request seems pretty straightforward to me. :)

His weapon. a taxi. a megaphone... botttomline if you're quick witted enough (and bold enough) to disrupt his/her train of though you might have a few seconds to act and get away..

Regardless of the situation, I would ask the major reason why? If you can understand why then perhaps you can help get yourself out of the sticky situation. Given the fact they're giving you a last request means they're in a state for logical reasonings. Of course it still counts on you to help with the persuasion but never sell yourself short and die with diginity if you have to!

I would say focus on time - anything that gives you more time to think, them time to calm down or change their mind, or someone else time to realise you are in danger and come to your aid. Asking for the chance to call a loved one to say goodbye, or asking to understand their reasons for killing you, or something like that might buy you a little time. My self defence teacher said that if you are confronted by a burglar with a lethal weapon, you can buy time and sometimes calm them down by asking them questions: what do you need? do you want money? are you in trouble? anything that shows a level of empathy and gives them a way to get what they want and get out without harming you can diffuse the situation. Of course in movies the villain's downfall is always brought about by the time they wasted answering the question of how their brilliant and diabolical plan works, but I'm not sure that works in real life. :)

Not a serious answer, but focusing on time, If you have a chess board near by, then ask them for 1 billionth of a second extra to live for the first chess board square, then double for the second square - so 2 billionths of a second, double that for the 3rd, 4 billionths of a second, and so on. By the time you reach the 30th square you will be adding a second to your life. Still doesnt sound like much does it. By the time you reach the 64th square you will have 584 years to live!

This is kinda like a shot in the dark, but here goes: Say you're fitted with cement shoes, and you ask for a last request before being thrown into a river/ocean/any deep enough body of water. Your last request is to get on the phone, whether it be a payphone or the murderer's cellphone, and have a last 5 or 10-minute chat with a loved one, and having the would-be murderer turn away and be out of earshot while counting down his watch, so you can have some privacy in talking. But as soon as he's turned away and out of earshot, call 911 right then and there!! Tell them where you are, how much time you have to live at that point, and what's about to happen to you! Even if you were blindfolded on your way to your murder site and don't have a clue where you are, the wonderful 911 system has a way to track the exact location of your cellphone! In this case, to help them out regardless, describe your surroundings to the dispatcher. Remember: Talk to the dispatcher QUIETLY, or else the hitman will hear you! If fate is on your side (and hopefully it is), in short notice, a swarm of squad cars will appear out of nowhere and converge right to your rescue! ADDENDUM: I'll not hide it from you- yes, there is a chance. However, if you have no other option than to die or ask for a last request, think about it- Which would you rather pick?: Option # 1- Say nothing and let the murderer do what he intended to do right away. Chances of survival = 0%. Option #2- Do what I told you above the addendum. Chances of survival = Somewhere above 0%, though the odds depend on the murderer. Some murderers may see through it, others may not. Regardless, it's always better to take the option that just might spare your life.

You could ask for one last chance to sing your favorite song- just make sure your favourite song is The Song That Never Ends.. Alternatively, if he's got you at gun point you could ask him to allow you the dignity to press the trigger yourself- if he's dumb enough he may just fall for it. Or ask for a last meal and make sure its something really difficult to get hold of. Or tell him you find his controlling streak really attractive and your last request is to give him a long passionate kiss- even if you're the same gender- or especially if you're the same gender- you may just put him off his guard enough in order to escape. In reality I would have thought in most cases that if someone is really determined to kill you, they're likely to do it anyway- regardless of last requests. In fact in my first example, you might just bring on death even quicker!

If you get in a situation like this , say "oh pleaseplease dont kiol me please" and then pretend to die of shock or something... i dunno i havent really though it through.

Ask him to pray with you. Then pull out your concealed .45 Glock and pump him full of Hydro-Shocks till he can't kill you anymore. This is Life or Death People! Stop wishing for things and make it happen.

Well, you could try this one: Pretend that you suddenly have a secret you want to share. that you have a few stolen or inherited millions stached away and as you are going to die, anyway, you might as well tell them where it is so that it won't go to waste. The only condition is that they tell you a safe spot to deposit it and that you also have 5 minutes alone to speak to the person who is going to deposit it there, so as to give them directions. They won't speak to anyone else but you, so you have to give them the okay to drop it off. Curiosity is bound to get the better of your captors and they are likely to be interested in your money if you are not going to be there to use it! Naturally, you ring a relative and get help fast!!

Tell him (or her) you would appreciate it if you could at least comb your hair and make yourself a presentable-looking corpse. While combing your hair, you can tell him you are under hidden surveillance by a bodyguard, a former sniper, and the secret signal is combing your hair. Also add he will kill any aggressor instantly as soon as you put the comb away, and he's a marksman -- has never missed a target in 25 years. (Yeah, it's a stretch, but I doubt if anyone would test to see if there really is a sniper/bodyguard. In fact, you might see the potential killer looking around or upward with a look of pure paranoia on his/her face. (Heck, anything's worth a try in such a dire situation.)

Ask the killer to let you recite the Websters dictionary, the killer would more than likely fall asleep and you could then escape. You may be insane at this point though.

You could request Scotty to beam you up. Frank See, that was easy.

Tell him that you forgive him for what he is about to do. This serves two purposes: 1) It often is psychologically so devastating that he decdes to stop 2) If you can actually do it, you will have attained a level of spirituality that Jesus had, and he was certainly saved from death.

You could fake them out by saying something like, "Oh, thank God! Finally my prayers have come true, I'm dying of (insert horrible life-shortening terminal disease) and I want to end it all but no-one would help me till you came along!!" Similarly to the answers brilliantly submitted by other answerbag-contributors, this would create conflict and guilt and thus assuming the killer-to-be had actually asked you for your dying request, you'd be guaranteed at least an extra few minutes - plus, for most killers, a compliant victim takes the joy out of it. Remember folks, customer satisfaction is not sought after by someone who intends to make you suffer in any way - be it the taking of your life or some other such personal inconvenience they plan to inflict upon you. So take the joy out of it for them.. OR... As other contributors have said, offer them something they can't refuse - ask them to answer one question before you die, "Other than killing me, what would make you most happy right now and if I can help my fellow man, is there some way I can make it happen for you?" That's another one to stump the would-be-killer.. Wow. I've spent way too much time thinking this one through.. Now, who wants to get taken hostage with me......? :)

Tell him not to kill you, or even better, tell him to kill himself.

Ohh my...I'm still laffing at shaverbgod's answer. That is priceless!!!! How about asking to hold a recently signed (be reasonable...say in the last 3 months or so) autograph from Elvis. You'll at worst die of old age strapped to the chair.

go with the obvious, ask him if you can call the cops, ur mom or someone or if he can like not kill you

1. Offer to help the person with social problems (you have to play sigmund freud here!!!). 2. tell them that you've allways wanted to kill someone then tell them that the only person that you would like to kill is yourself, he will become puzzled by this and may start asking questions about why you would kill yourself and then ask him "well why do you want to kill me?" this will have brought you enough time to be rescued by your friends.

Aks him to put on a fake beard. Then when he does, yank it up over his eyes and run away.

Ask him kindly to get your badger friends. They will defend you to the death, and with so many, you can easily escape!

yeah, go with a pardon.

Ask them not to kill you! LOL

Ask for the weapon he is going to use to kill you. then kill him. lol

this is based on a joke, but i will tell you...hahah........um....."a man was supposed to die by firing squad.....he was granted one last request.....anything he wanted........he asked the executor to be able to sing his favorite song, from beginning to end, without being interrupted.....the executor agreed..........so, the man facing death by firing squad starting singing, 'one billion bottles of beer on the wall......one billion bottles of beer...take one down, pass it around, 999,999,999 bottles of beer on the wall"...hahah...that is what i would do........take care....Brian......

I'd ask him for the privilege of being shot with a New Gun. While he's out shopping for a new gun, I make a break for it.  

he has to honor it, no questions asked? ... simple ... have him commit suicide

His or her weapon. +2

an AR-15, that comes in handy in alot of situations

One last question on AB =P

How about asking if they would delay, until another 100 years went by?

How about a medium rare steak with fries and side salad. You'd be left with a steak knife for leverage (as long as it wasn't plastic)

got it. if killing you with a gun ask for the gun if killing you with a knife ask for the knife if killing you by suffocation ask for oxygen mask. if killing you with love demand freedom. if killing you by their own hands ask that they cut them off. +5

If it was a guy ask for him to close his eyes for 10 minutes. Kick his balls then run away :P

Tell him to test the weapon on him self first to make sure it works

ummm ask for them to let u have sex with them. wen the get undress :] then run.

a gun

I'd ask to watch all the episodes ofThe O'reilly Factor once over before I die. Hopefully he'll get so bored he'll kill himself.

ask him to kill himself

How bout ask to go to Duncan Donuts for a last meal. With all the cops there you could get them arrested.

A flamethrower An AK-47 from November 20 of any year they made them in perfect condition (or any other day of the year...) A guillotine

ask to play a game of hide n seek. They close their eyes (no peeking!) and count to one thousand while you hide! (code for run to safety!)

I would ask them to grant you a clone to take the bullet for you..

I say that the person read, memorize & recite from memory, without mistakes - all of Shakespeare's works. That should give you plenty of time to scheme for you escape when they fall asleep!

Billy the Kid just asked to go out to the outhouse for a minute. That and a gun hidden away in there did the trick.

That is one fancy gun you have there. Can I see it real quick?

Can you not just ask him to spare your life? That seems a nobel request..

Ask if i could if i could go to the mall one more time(or a large department store) and there i would use my gift of sneakiness and quiet(which i barely use) to quietly sneak away and run were he?she would never find and me being able to climb excellently i could find an amazing spot. Where i wait till the coast was clear

Can you take care of yourself first?

ask them if they can wait until answerbag is perminently working flawlessly :)

10- To watch the last 2 seasons of "OZ" together. 9- Sushi dinner with Katie Couric 8- A bottle of Perry Ellis cologne 7- A fireworks display (preferably in California during the "dry" season). 6- To sing along while watching the Sound of Music 5- Give you the chance to use your ATT Rollover minutes 4- A half ounce of real GHB and not the BDO substitute. 3- The opportunity to meet your killer's mother. 2- To ask one last question on AB. 1- An opportunity to tell your psychic just how sorry you are for all those times you were filled with doubt.

"Phone your Mother and tell her what you are doing right now"

absolution or a chocotoff

say you would like to be killed by time (old age)

hhmmm..i would ask if i could kill him first..hehe...

That you want to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica