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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. 

Iraq Executes 11 'Terror' Convicts

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BAGHDAD -- Iraq said it had executed 11 people convicted of crimes related to "terrorist attacks."

The Justice Ministry said the executions took place on November 24. A total of 162 people have been executed in Iraq so far this year, compared with 129 in all of 2012.

International organizations and human rights groups have called on Baghdad to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; with UN human rights chief Navi Pillay claiming Iraq's criminal justice system does not function "adequately."

But Iraqi Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari said the executions are carried out only after an exhaustive legal process.

The executions come amid increased sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims that has left more than 500 people dead in November alone, most of them in explosions and car-bomb attacks.

Source: Agence France-Presse, November 26, 2013
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