The inspiration for this episode may have been the 2011 execution of one of the murderers of James Byrd Jr, who was dragged for 3 miles behind a truck. His horrific murder led Texas to pass Hate Crime laws and Congress to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (Matthew Shepard was a college student robbed and murdered in a homophobic attack.) The antics of one of the murderers, Brewer, before his execution led to the cessation of the Last Meal for the condemned.
In 2001 Mackenzie Phillips was in Crossing Jordan "The Dawn of a New Day" with the same "Strangers on a Train" story line as this episode of Criminal Minds. Her character, Elaine Stahler, makes a deal with another woman, a stranger named Sandra Babcock, in which they would kill each others husband. Elaine's husband was abusing her and Sandra claimed her husband was abusing their children. Sandra lied about the CA because her husband had a 2.2 million dollar life insurance policy.