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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. 

KY moves one step closer toward reinstating death penalty

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On Friday, Kentucky moved one step closer toward reinstating the death penalty.

Recently the State Supreme Court put a halt on executions until the protocol surrounding the entire execution was made public.

In the days and then hours leading up to an execution there are procedures followed by the Department of Corrections and for years those procedures have been confidential. But the Supreme Court said it should all be public and Friday it was the public’s one chance to voice opinion on those rules.

No one there agreed with the death penalty but hoped to make it more humane. They even revisited old arguments settled by the U.S. Supreme Court that involved drugs used to execute Kentucky inmates and challenged what witnesses are allowed to see; requiring better witness access from beginning to end and better accommodations for families and the condemned.

The attorney, who challenged the state's protocol and won, was also there with more questions so that Kentucky's protocol will follow other states. They are laws and protocol that all may not agree upon but will be carried out in the light of day.

Next the Department of Corrections will review the comments then publish Kentucky's protocol for administering the death penalty. If the general assembly approves it and the governor signs it, then Kentucky's death penalty will be reinstated.

Source: WHAS11.com, January 29, 2010
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