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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 delays Kimberly McCarthy's execution

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Texas Execution Chamber
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A woman scheduled to be put to death next week has been given a temporary stay of execution. Kimberly McCarthy of Lancaster was convicted of the brutal 1997 murder of an elderly neighbor. But a press release from Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said that her execution date has been moved from April 3 to June 26.

McCarthy was sentenced to death for the robbery, beating and fatal stabbing of 71-year-old retired college professor Dorothy Booth.

In the District Attorney’s statement, Watkins said, “When I sign a death warrant in Dallas County, I want the public to trust that the inmate who was sentenced to death by a jury received a fair trial.”

The delay comes as “six proposed bills seek to improve the fairness of the ultimate punishment.” Those six bills in the Legislature address a number of issues involving death penalty cases.

Watkins will be in court on Friday morning to formally announce the agreement for a temporary stay of McCarthy’s execution.

Source: CBS, March 29, 2013

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Texas inmate Kimberly McCarthy granted 60-day reprieve
Jan 29, 2013
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 ...
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