Latest news with #JeffHood
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Death row spiritual adviser, a witness to 9 executions, nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
When the Rev. Jeff Hood walked into Oklahoma's execution chamber, he found his friend Emmanuel Littlejohn already strapped to a gurney, moments away from death. When Hood pulled out some anointing oil to bless Littlejohn one last time, the condemned man offered a brief moment of levity in the grim environment. "Oh Jeff, did you bring me a blunt?" Littlejohn told the spiritual adviser – according to his mother, Ceily Mason, who was a witness to her son's execution. Turning serious, Littlejohn told his mother and daughter he loved them and reassured them: "I'm OK, everything is going to be OK." Then, Hood asked Littlejohn for forgiveness: "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to stop this." Then the man condemned to death for the 1992 killing of Oklahoma City shopkeeper Kenneth Meers − for which he maintained innocence until the end − offered absolution to the priest that helped win him hope for clemency. "Jeff, the only reason we made it this far is because of you," Littlejohn told Hood. In Littlejohn's final moments, Hood told him: "Go to the love." Hood has witnessed the execution of nine of "his guys," including the first nitrogen gas execution carried out in the U.S., that of Kenneth Smith in January 2024. "My job is to come into their lives when they have six to three months left to live and become their best friend," Hood previously told USA TODAY after David Hosier's execution in 2024. "I become their best friend in order to be their best friend when they die." For his work with death row inmates, Hood has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by David Lemley, a professor of religion at Southern California's Pepperdine University. "He's putting himself in a position to love 'the least of these,'" Lemley told USA TODAY. "It is peace for peace's sake. It's good for good sake. I think that that's worth awarding." The Nobel Foundation says 338 candidates have been nominated for the 2025 prize, though the list of nominees won't be made public for 50 years. Lemley told USA TODAY that his nomination asks the Nobel committee to consider a more personal definition of peace than what is commonly associated with the award, such as the nuclear disarmament work of 2024 prize winner Nihon Hidankyo or the efforts of 2016 winner Columbian President Juan Manuel Santos to end the country's civil war. "I believe Dr. Hood's person and work are worthy of the committee's consideration as an example of bringing both the peace that flows from honoring the dignity of disenfranchised people, and the peace that flows through the channel of one human spirit to another," Lemley wrote in the nominating letter, obtained by USA TODAY. Hood told USA TODAY that he finds his validation in being there for "his guys" at the end of their lives. "The greater honor for me is the opportunity to witness God's love flow in and out of the lives of those we marginalize and oppress here in the land of the living," Hood said. The winner of the prize will be announced in October. In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that spiritual advisers must be allowed into execution chambers if death row inmates want them. Since then, the 41-year-old Hood − who is based in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his wife and five children − has made it one of his missions to comfort the condemned in their final weeks, hours and minutes. Two of his guys are scheduled for execution on June 10: Gregory Hunt in Alabama and Anthony Wainwright in Florida. "These are people who Jeff is serving to the end of their life. He can't offer them rehabilitation, he can't offer them restoration to society," Lemley said. "But you can be the presence of peace to them in their final moments, which often, as we've seen, are really terrifying moments." Noa Dubois, the wife of former Texas death row inmate Steven Nelson, said that Hood's guidance was instrumental in her husband's final days. "When you know you know your time and date of (execution), you start to ask all those questions you know in your in your mind," Dubois told USA TODAY. "'Am I a good person? How can I achieve redemption? Is there hell? Is there heaven?' Jeff was really able to answer all those questions or at least guide Steven through those times of uncertainty." Nelson was executed earlier this year for the for the 2011 murder of a beloved young pastor, the Rev. Clint Dobson, though he maintained his innocence. Following the execution Dubois and Hood remained close. She said witnessing his outreach work helped restore her faith in humanity. "It's proof of understanding and humanity to have the connection with spirituality to put aside people's actions and just still love them and be present for them and help them navigate one of the worst horrible things that this country is doing," Dubois said. As she watched the execution of her son in Oklahoma, Ceily Mason witnessed the toll losing Littlejohn took on Hood. "I watched Jeff and Jeff bawled. Most ministers, they done been there so much it don't bother them," Mason told USA TODAY. "But I watched Jeff and Jeff bawled, he couldn't take it." Mason said that Jeff has become part of her family and presided over Littlejohn's celebration of life. "I tell him all the time: 'God gave you something that you got to deal with, Jeff'" she said. "I don't know if I could do it, but each man gets a chance in Jeff's heart. it doesn't matter if they guilty or innocent, and he knows they (are) innocent or he knows they (are) guilty, he still loves on them." Both Mason and Dubois spoke to Hood remaining in their lives following their loved ones' executions. "I think I needed as much help (after Nelson's execution) as he needed and we were both able to provide for each other, which strengthened the bond," Dubois said. "We needed to process this together." Lemley told USA TODAY that Hood's willingness to work with the condemned should be recognized by the Nobel committee as a starting point for building true peace. "If you can stand with someone who is clearly guilty of something in their final moments and offer them peace, that really says something to those of us who are hoping that people will look up and see the human cost of war, the human cost of immigration policies, the human cost of economic policies and the human cost of the rhetoric behind those things that would suggest that anybody is less than human," Lemley said. Lemley noted that some of those considered for the Peace Prize are chosen after coming to prominence and that Hood's nomination serves as a counterpoint to them. "Jeff is not living a fabulous celebrity life because of the public work that he does," he said. "It's a suffering kind of work." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spiritual adviser to death row inmates nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Church in Little Rock to host ‘Mass for Gaza' Sunday morning
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A church in Little Rock will be hosting a 'Mass for Gaza' on Sunday morning. According to a release, at 9 a.m. on Sunday, St. Oscar Romero Old Catholic Church will be hosting the event in collaboration with Peace for Palestine. 'The service will take place in collaboration with Peace for Palestine and a variety of our Muslim neighbors. We will be reflecting on the ongoing genocide in Gaza,' Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood said. Arkansans protest violence in Gaza for 6th week The address of the church is 1601 S Louisiana Street, and the entrance will be on the side. Organizers also said that after the service, they will march through the streets of the SoMa district to the Governors Mansion. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas nitrogen gas execution bill clears House and heads for Senate
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas is one step closer to approving nitrogen gas as a method of execution in capital cases. House Bill 1489 passed the House Tuesday afternoon in a 67-23 vote for that chamber. If the bill becomes law, it would allow the execution of an inmate by nitrogen gas. What happened at the nation's first nitrogen gas execution: An AP eyewitness account Arkansas, like other states, is having trouble accessing the drugs used to execute capital offense prisoners. HB1489 would allow nitrogen to be used as an execution method through nitrogen hypoxia, where a mask is fitted to the condemned and they inhale the gas to the point of suffocation. Alabama was the first state to approve and use nitrogen gas for an execution. Reverend Jeff Hood attended to the January 2024 execution of 58-year-old Kenneth Eugene Smith. Hood testified to the House Judiciary Committee that Smith's execution was horrific as he reacted to the gas, calling the execution method 'torture.' Alabama conducts first-ever execution by nitrogen hypoxia The state has 26 prisoners on death row, and its last execution was in 2017. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
30-01-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Deloitte and May Mobility Announce Strategic Collaboration to Optimize Autonomous Transportation Services Globally
New relationship will generate insights from May Mobility's sensor and environmental data to help enhance autonomous transportation safety, efficiency, sustainability, equity and utility NEW YORK and ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte and May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company, announced an alliance relationship to bring new data and insight offerings to market, helping to improve and optimize rider and community safety for their joint municipal and business customers. Deloitte's 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study confirmed that consumers worldwide are looking for AV companies to prioritize safety in their autonomous transportation solutions. Deloitte and May Mobility's joint capabilities use data and analytics from May Mobility deployments to closely track safety events and help government and business customers improve safety outcomes for riders. One example of this joint capability is Deloitte's autonomous vehicle data platform, which transportation planners and operators can subscribe and receive insights, to more effectively take action and optimize autonomous mobility for their communities. Deloitte and May Mobility first deployed insight services in 2024 as part of the Accessibili-D autonomous vehicle program in the City of Detroit. City and university researchers, including the University of Michigan, are using data and insights from Deloitte and May Mobility to optimize the AV system that helps older adults and people with disabilities (PwD) access critical services, such as doctor appointments and grocery stores. These insights can be incorporated into the autonomous vehicle plans of municipalities and businesses wherever May Mobility deploys around the globe. 'Our goal is to collaborate with May Mobility to create safer autonomous mobility by analyzing AV behavior and interactions with riders and the broader community,' said Jeff Hood, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. 'A more trustworthy AV transportation system will create outcomes that have been the promise of the AV industry for years, such as better access to affordable and sustainable transportation.' This new collaboration, that can be deployed both domestically and internationally, combines Deloitte's data, software engineering and AI capabilities; and combines them with data from May Mobility's AV system and weather, city infrastructure and ridership data. 'Our patented Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology runs on-board simulations to imagine thousands of possible scenarios every second, enabling a vehicle to rapidly perform the safest action in any given scenario,' said Manik Dhar, chief commercial officer for May Mobility. 'Combining MPDM with Deloitte's insights platform creates another layer of analysis tailored for each unique community, resulting in an optimized mobility system for our customers.' To learn more about Deloitte's automotive-related services visit here. More about May Mobility, can be found here. About May Mobility May Mobility develops autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and deploys fleets of vehicles to municipal and business customers. Its proprietary Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) system is at the core of its mission to help make cities safer, greener and more accessible. MPDM's proven track record has delivered more than 350,000 autonomy-enabled rides to date in several public transit applications across the U.S. and Japan. With key strategic partnerships including some of the world's most innovative automotive and transportation companies, such as Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT, May Mobility aims to achieve the highest standard in rider safety, sustainability and transportation equity. For more information, visit About Deloitte Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 8,500 U.S.-based private companies. At Deloitte, we strive to live our purpose of making an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society. We leverage our unique blend of business acumen, command of technology, and strategic technology alliances to advise our clients across industries as they build their future. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Bringing more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 460,000 people worldwide connect for impact at Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ('DTTL'), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as 'Deloitte Global') does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the 'Deloitte' name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see to learn more about our global network of member firms.
