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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. 

Texas inmate Kimberly McCarthy granted 60-day reprieve

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The planned execution of a female inmate in Texas has been postponed for 60-days by a judge in the Lone Star state.

The execution, which was planned for after 6 p.m. this evening would have been the first time in over two years a female inmate would have faced the death penalty.

Kimberly McCarthy, 51, was sentenced to death for the 1997 robbery, beating and fatal stabbing of her 71-year-old neighbour Dorothy Booth - she was due to receive a lethal injection.

State District Judge Larry Mitchell issued a reprieve for 51-year-old Kimberly McCarthy less than five hours before she could have been taken to the death chamber for the 1997 slaying of a neighbor.

Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Shelly Yeatts says McCarthy's execution date now is April 3.

McCarthy's lawyers contend the jury that convicted her of murder was improperly selected on the basis of race. McCarthy is black. Her jury was made up of 11 whites and one black person.

Source: Huffington Post, January 29, 2013
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