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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. 

Italian MPs meet in India with marines possibly facing death

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A delegation of Italian MPs met in New Delhi Monday with Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, Italian marines who may face the death penalty in India for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen. 

"We are soldiers, Italian soldiers. We must suffer with dignity," said Latorre, who met the delegates at the Italian embassy. "We hope to come back with honor". 

The pair are accused of killing fishermen Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly mistaking them for pirates and opening fire on their fishing trawler while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala on February 15, 2012. 

Italy has appealed to the Indian Supreme Court amid fears that India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) intends to prosecute the pair under a harsh anti-terrorism law that bears the death penalty, despite previous reassurances from the Indian foreign ministry that the marines would not face capital punishment. 

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, Indian ministers assured Italy they would press their government for a decision on the law by February 3. 

Meanwhile the European Union has threatened India with economic consequences if the death penalty is not taken off the table.

Source: Gazzette del Sud, January 27, 2014
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