Prisons Commissioner Rohana Pushpakumara said yesterday the Prisons Department was refurbishing the gallows at the Welikada Prison to be prepared in case the death penalty was reactivated on the orders of President Maithripala Sirisena.

“The death penalty was last carried out on June 23, 1976 as such it needs to be repaired and functional. We hope to have it ready by November,” he said.

Mr. Pushpakumara said several candidates for the post of hangman had sent in their applications and two suitable hangmen would be recruited and trained after they are interviewed in October.

Sri Lanka has 31 prisons but the gallows are only at the Welikada prison.

The Prisons Department said 1,115 convicts had been sentenced to death while 600 of them had appealed against their sentence.

Only gallows are used in Sri Lanka while other countries use the electric chair or the lethal injection to carry out the death penalty.(Piyumi Fonseka)