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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 solidifies execution drug secrecy protections into law

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Texas state law will mandate keeping the identity of Texas' lethal drug suppliers confidential from the public - and even death row inmates and their attorneys.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Thursday that cleared both chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature. 

There was little floor opposition, despite advocates' calls that there shouldn't be secrecy surrounding the nation's busiest death chamber.

Drug manufacturers say they won't sell to Texas without total confidentiality since they've faced threats from death penalty opponents. There's little evidence that such threats actually occurred, however.

Abbott, then state attorney general, declared in a previous opinion that suppliers' identities should be disclosed. But he reversed himself while running for governor, siding for secrecy.

That prompted legal challenges that will likely be further complicated by the new law.

Source: Associated Press, May 29, 2015

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