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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. 

Death penalty expansions being considered in Louisiana

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BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana legislature convened for it's second special session Monday, with crime solutions at the forefront for lawmakers. Legislators are days away from deciding if the new execution methods will be legal with a bill filed by Republican state Rep. Nicholas Muscarello.

One of the governor's top priorities is to add new methods for capital punishment. It's one of the issues Governor Jeff Landry campaigned on. 

"Everyone in this room is aware that crime has put a national spotlight on our great state," Landry said.

The governor says he's tired of Louisiana being considered one of the most dangerous states in America, and suggests the death penalty is a deterrent for criminals. The death penalty has not been used in Louisiana since 2010, under Governor Bobby Jindal. 

Critics on the other side of the aisle disagree with the death penalty proposal. State Rep. Edmond Jordan (D) says the punishment is risky, and there's bound to be mistakes.

"Louisiana has one of the highest wrongful conviction rates in the nation," Jordan said. "We have more people being exonerated than most other states. If someone is exonerated and they're dead, it doesn't do them any good."

The bill would add death by nitrogen gas and electrocution as legal methods for execution, though lethal injection would remain the preferred method. Despite the governor's backing, some Republicans disagree. 

"When it comes specifically to the death penalty, I personally am not a death penalty guy. I'm pro-life. I believe pro-life is from birth to death," Rep. Dixon McMakin (R) said.

The Senate will convene again Tuesday at 3 p.m., and the house will convene at 5 p.m.

Source: wbrz.com, Alexis Marigny, February 19, 2024

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