Three women among applicants for hangman's post

Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE

Three women are among 100 applicants vying for the post of hangman, Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms Ministry sources said.

The ministry has received over 100 applications for the post of hangman without even calling for application for the post, the sources added. According to the ministry, there are two vacancies for the post of hangman.

Of the 100 applications received, three women have also applied for the post of executioner.

Besides the three women, a man who has worked for a long period in a cattle slaughter house, had also applied for the post of hangman. According to a survey conducted by the Rehabilitation and Prisons Reforms Ministry, over 80 percent of those interviewed, want capital punishment implemented to fight criminal elements.

The capital punishment ceased to operate since 1976. As a result of this, 357 convicts who have been sentenced to death are in prisons. These death row prisoners are in Welikada and Bogambara prisons.