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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 death row inmate gets execution reprieve because of Hurricane Harvey

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Harvey, Texas
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- A 36-year-old condemned Texas inmate scheduled for execution next week has won a temporary reprieve because of Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall to Houston and flash floods all over East Texas.

Since landfall, rainfall amounts have totaled between 15 and 48 inches around the city, according to the National Weather Service.

The severe weather has the possibility of lasting through early to mid next week. 

Emergency responders in Houston have now rescued more than 7,000 people.

Bexar County prosecutors cited "extraordinary circumstances" in asking a state judge to move Juan Castillo's execution to Dec. 14 because some of his legal team is based in Harris County.

Gov. Greg Abbott has designated the county a disaster area along with dozens of other Texas counties hit by the storm.

State District Judge Jefferson Moore signed the order Wednesday agreeing to move the date.

Castillo had been scheduled for lethal injection Sept. 7 in Huntsville for the slaying of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr. during a 2003 robbery in San Antonio.

Source: The Associated Press, Agencies, August 31, 2017


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Huntsville, TX, USA
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