Death sentence: Woman tops the list

Justice and Prison Reforms Minister Thalata Athukorala said yesterday that a woman prisoner headed the list of the death row criminals, submitted to be hanged.

At an event held in Kahawatta, the Minister said the country had already become a drug trafficking hub when they came into power.

“Some officers, prison officials and police officers are involved in drug trafficking. We are taking every action to curb this menace in the country” she said.

Meanwhile, the Justice and Prison Reforms Ministry said yesterday that although the list of convicted drug traffickers who were sentenced to death was submitted to the ministry, a comprehensive report was being prepared to be handed over to the President.

A spokesman for the ministry said that the President had asked for a report from the ministry and not from the Prisons Commissioner.

“It is not a simple task to complete such a report within a day or two. The ministry needs to look into every possible angle to make it right. There are some foreign convicts who have been sentenced to death over drug-related crimes and some convicts have several court cases. If we sentence a wrong person to death it would lead to chaos,” he said.

It was reported that a list consisting of the names of 18 convicts, who were sentenced to death for drug-related crimes, had been submitted to the Justice and Prison Reforms Ministry by the Prison Commissioner. (Darshana Sanjeewa)