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U.S. | 'I comfort death row inmates in their final moments - the execution room is like a house of horrors'

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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. 

Attorneys seek clemency for condemned killer

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Associated Press - May 27, 2008 7:25 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Attorneys for a man sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of a Japanese student in Oklahoma City will make their final attempt tomorrow to save their client's life.

Terry Lyn Short is scheduled to die by lethal injection on June 17th for the January 1995 killing of 22-year-old Ken Yamamoto, who died after Short threw a firebomb into the apartment of his ex-girlfriend, who lived below Yamamoto.

The five-member Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is expected to hear from the 47-year-old Short via video link from death row at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Oklahoma City attorney Jim Rowan, who represented Short at trial, says Short has no other legal appeals taking place.

The clemency board will listen to presentations from Short's attorneys, the attorney general's office and anyone representing the victim, then decide whether to recommend clemency to Gov. Brad Henry.

The governor will make the final decision on whether to spare Short's life.

Source: The Associated Press
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