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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. 

Governor Martin O’Malley attempts to repeal the death penalty in Maryland

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Last prisoner executed under Republican Robert Ehrlich as technicalities and inaction thus far keeps law at arms length.

Martin O’Malley, the newly re-elected Governor of Maryland, will try once more to have the death penalty repealed in his state this coming January.

O’Malley, a Democrat, tipped by many to be a possible candidate for the 2016 Presidency, could be set to add to his already progressive legacy.

Although the death penalty remains on the state’s books, advocates, both for and against the law, agree that it is unlikely that those five prisoners currently on death row will be executed during O’Malley’s tenure.

Maryland is one of 34 states with death penalty laws. In 2005 Maryland executed its last prisoner, under Governor Robert Ehrlich (R).

Six years ago Maryland’s highest court put a stop to executions due to a technicality. So far O’Malley’s administration has simply not implemented the regulations which would see the capital punishment resume.


Source: Irish Central, November 27, 2012
Location: Maryland
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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. 
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