Prison Dept. ready to carry out death sentence

19 September 2015 04:46 am Views - 6721

Prisons Commissioner Rohana Pushpakumara said yesterday the Prisons Department was in a position to implement the death penalty within three months if the government decided to re-activate it.

He expressed these views in response to a statement by President Maithripala Sirisena on the imposition of the death penalty.

He said the Department had received 15 applications for the post of hangmen and that interviews would be held within three weeks.

“We are ready should the government take a policy decision to impose the death penalty. Sri Lanka has 31 prisons but the gallows only at the Welikada prison,” Mr. Pushpakumara said.

He said 1,115 convicts had been sentenced to death while 600 of them had appealed against their sentence.(Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa)