Reverend Jeff Hood, 40, wants to help condemned inmates 'feel human again' and vows to continue his efforts to befriend murderers in spite of death threats against his family A reverend who has made it his mission to comfort death row inmates in their final days has revealed the '"moral torture" his endeavor entails. Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, 40, lives with his wife and five children in Little Rock, Arkansas. But away from his normal home life, he can suddenly find himself holding the shoulder of a murderer inside an execution chamber, moments away from the end of their life.
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Islamic Republic of Iran's punishment code on Homosexuality
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Complete Text of the Iranian Law on Homosexuality
Part Two: The Hadd of Lavat
Chapter One: The Definition of Lavat
Article 108: Lavat is an act of congress [vati] between males whether in [the form of] penetration or of tafkhiz (the rubbing of thighs/of the penis against thighs). Article 109: Both the active and passive partners to lavat are subject to the hadd [punishment]. Article 110: The hadd [punishment] for lavat where penetration has occurred is death and the method of execution is at the discretion of the Sharia judge. Article 111: Lavat is punishable by death so long as both the active and passive partners are mature, of sound mind, and have acted of free will. Article 112: If a mature man commits an act of lavat with a minor the active partner [i.e. mature man] will be executed and the passive partner will, unless he has acted under duress, receive up to 74 lashes of the whip. Article 113: Whenever a minor commits an act of congress [vati: i.e. whether penetrative or in the form of “tafkhiz or similar acts”] with another minor [both] will receive up to 74 lashes unless one of them has acted under duress.
Chapter Two: Methods of Proving Lavat
Article 114: The hadd [crime] of lavat is proven by confession repeated four times before a Sharia judge. Article 115: Less than four confessions do not incur the hadd [punishment] and the person who confesses will be subject to a discretionary punishment [ta‘zir]. Article 116: Confession is valid when the confessor is mature, of sound mind, in control, has free will and [acts with] intention. Article 117: The hadd [crime] of lavat is proven by the witness of four just men who have observed the act. Article 118: The hadd [crime] of lavat is not proven by the witness of fewer than four just men and the witnesses will be subject the hadd [punishment] for slander (qazaf). Article 119: The witness of women alone, or in conjunction with men, does not prove the hadd [crime] of lavat. Article 120: The Shari’a judge may rule [issue a verdict] on the basis of the knowledge which he has acquired through generally accepted methods (i.e. his deductions and examinations). Article 121: The hadd [crime] of tafkhiz and similar acts between two men, without penetration, will be punished by 100 lashes for each [party to the act]. Note to Article 121: If the active partner is non-Muslim and the passive partner is Muslim the punishment for the active partner is death. Article 122: If tafkhiz and similar acts are repeated three times, and have each time incurred the hadd punishment on the fourth offence the hadd (punishment) will be death. Article 123: If two men, unrelated to one another, lie, without necessity, naked under the same cover, they will each be punished by up to 99 lashes of the whip. Article 124: If a man kisses another with lascivious intent they will be punished by up to 60 lashes of the whip. Article 125: If a man who has committed an act of sodomy (lavat) or the rubbing of thighs (tafkhiz) or similar acts repents before witnesses have delivered their testimony he will not be subject to the hadd punishment. If the man repents after the testimonies have been delivered, he will be subject to the hadd punishment. Article 126: If sodomy (lavat) or the rubbing of thighs (tafkhiz) or similar acts is established by confession, and the person who has confessed subsequently repents, the judge may request the Vali-ye Amr [the Supreme Leader] to exercise clemency.
Chapter Three: Lesbianism (mosaheqeh)
Article 127: Mosaheqeh is a same sex relationship between women with genital contact. Article 128: The methods of proving mosaheqeh are the same as those for sodomy. Article 129: The hadd punishment for mosaheqeh is 100 lashes of the whip for each party. Article 130: The hadd crime of mosaheqeh may be proven in the case of those who are mature, of sound mind, and who have acted with intention. Note: In the hadd crime of mosaheqeh there is no distinction between the active and passive party or between Muslim and non-Muslim parties [to the act]. Article 131: If mosaheqeh is repeated three times and the hadd has been carried out on each occasion, the hadd punishment on the fourth occasion will be death. Article 132: If a person who has committed an act of mosaheqeh repents before witnesses have delivered their testimony she will not be subject to the hadd punishment. If the person repents after the testimonies have been delivered, she will be subject to the hadd punishment. Article 133: If the act of mosaheqeh is established by confession, and the person who has confessed subsequently repents, the judge may request the Vali-ye Amr [the Supreme Leader] to exercise clemency. Article 134: If two women, who are unrelated to one another, lie, without necessity, naked under the same cover, they will each be punished by less than 100 lashes of the whip. If the act is repeated and the ta‘zir punishment is in each case administered, on the third occasion the hadd punishment of 100 lashes will be incurred.
Reverend Jeff Hood, 40, wants to help condemned inmates 'feel human again' and vows to continue his efforts to befriend murderers in spite of death threats against his family A reverend who has made it his mission to comfort death row inmates in their final days has revealed the '"moral torture" his endeavor entails. Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, 40, lives with his wife and five children in Little Rock, Arkansas. But away from his normal home life, he can suddenly find himself holding the shoulder of a murderer inside an execution chamber, moments away from the end of their life.
The Islamic Republic's judiciary has executed one more prisoner amid a surge in the death penalty. Nategh Hosseini was executed at Qazvin Central Prison on Saturday, reportedly in the presence of his seven-year-old son. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, Hosseini had been arrested three years ago on charges of alleged murder and subsequently sentenced to death.
Texas executed Ramiro Gonzales on Wednesday despite a stunning reversal from a psychiatrist who helped send him to death row 17 years ago. Gonzales, 41, was killed by lethal injection as punishment for kidnapping, raping and murdering Bridget Townsend when they were both 18. At the time, Gonzales was struggling with drug addiction. He killed Townsend, his drug dealer’s girlfriend, while trying to steal drugs. He had turned 18 two months before the killing, making him barely old enough to be legally eligible to be sentenced to death.
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is one of 27 states where state-backed executions are still legal, but no one has been put to death in a Hoosier prison in 15 years. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita look to change that. On Wednesday, Rokita’s office filed a motion with the Indiana Supreme Court seeking to set a date for the execution of Joseph Corcoran — a Fort Wayne man found guilty of murdering four people in 1997.
Richard Rojem’s death sentence was twice overturned by appellate courts, but his conviction itself has never been fully revisited. RICHARD ROJEM JR. had 20 minutes to address the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Wearing a maroon prison uniform, he raised his cuffed right hand and swore to tell the truth, then gave his pitch for why his life should be spared. It would take less than 90 seconds.
Governor Eric Holcomb says he isn’t worried about a plan to put to death a state prisoner with a drug that’s never been used in an Indiana execution. Holcomb said Thursday that while Indiana has never used pentobarbital in an execution, “Other states have, and we've done our due diligence.”
Days before his scheduled execution in Texas, Ramiro Gonzales speaks on faith, legacy — and apologizing to the family of his victim, Bridget Townsend. On Wednesday evening, Texas prison officials plan to execute Ramiro Gonzales, the 41-year-old who kidnapped, raped and murdered Bridget Townsend when they were both 18.
The North Carolina mother who tortured and murdered two of her adopted children could face the death penalty after the children's partial remains were found in a metal burn barrel in the back of her house. The siblings Blake and London Deven have not been seen for years, but were never reported missing by their adoptive mother, Avantae Deven.
Judge to decide fate of ex-prison guard trainee Zephen Xaver, who pleaded guilty to 2019 execution-style murders A jury on Wednesday recommended a former prison guard trainee be sentenced to death for his execution-style murders of five women inside a Florida bank five years ago. Jurors voted 9-3 to recommend Zephen Xaver, 27, receive the death penalty for the 23 January 2019 murders at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, about 85 miles (135km) south-east of Tampa.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The state of Oklahoma has set an execution date for a man convicted of murdering a 7-year-old girl in the 1980s. The Court of Criminal Appeals decided that Richard Rojem will be put to death after decades behind bars for the murder of Layla Dawn Cummings. Rojem has always claimed that he's innocent.