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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. 

Reconciliation committee urges Hamas to cancel death sentences

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A reconciliation committee of Palestinian factions met in Gaza City on Tuesday and to send a letter to Fatah and Hamas urging them to stop all actions that have a negative impact on national dialogue.

The letter called on Hamas and the de facto government in Gaza to cancel the death sentences against 3 Palestinians which a Hamas military court ruled handed down on Sunday. The letter explained that the death sentences were related to the Hamas-Fatah rivalry and confrontations, and so should be addressed through the conciliation committee appointed during Hamas Fatah talks in Cairo.

The letter also called on both movements to stop politically-motivated detentions in the West Bank and in Gaza, also calling for a national committee to follow up on that issue.

Furthermore, the letter called for immediately halting all restrictions on public freedoms, namely freedom of movement and travel in Gaza as well as political activities.

For his part, representative of the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) on the conciliation committee, Nafith Ghneim, said the meeting and the letter were aimed at exerting pressure on the de facto government in Gaza and the caretaker government in the West Bank to stop all violations which impede unity talks. A major violation was the death penalty against 3 Fatah-affiliated men in the Gaza Strip, he explained.

Source: Ma'an News Agency, May 29, 2009
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