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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. 

Iran hangs three

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3 Iranians convicted of murder have been hanged in the south of the country, local newspapers reported on Saturday.

1 man convicted of killing 2 people and identified by only his 1st name Heshmat was hanged last week in prison in the town of Kazeroon, the government newspaper Iran said.

2 other men were executed on Wednesday in Adel-Abad prison in the southern town of Shiraz, the Etemad newspaper reported. The latest hangings bring to at least 41 the number of executions in Iran so far this year. Iran executed at least 246 people last year, according to an AFP count.

Last year the Islamic republic stepped up its use of the death penalty in what it says is a bid to improve security in society.

Amnesty International says Iran carried out more death sentences in 2007 than any other country apart from China which executed 317 people.

Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Jan. 31, 2009
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