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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. 

UAE: Widow pardons husband's killer in Abu Dhabi

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A Pakistani widow surprised the judge at an Abu Dhabi court when she told him she was forgiving the killer of her husband in line with Islamic teachings.

The judge had given the woman three options — either to pardon the defendant, demand diya (blood money) or have the killer executed.

“This Pakistani woman has set an example in forgiveness,” the semi-official Arabic language daily ‘Al Ittihad’ said.

“She and her sons decided to pardon the killer of her husband. 

She affirmed to court that she only did this in line with Islamic teachings which call for toleration and forgiveness and that she only wanted to satisfy God the Almighty.”

Under Islamic law, a convicted killer can be freed after spending a specific jail term if pardoned by the victim’s relatives in return for diya.

Source: Emirates 24/7, December 24, 2014

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com
Location: Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
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