Prison overcrowding can’t be solved with hangings, says CPRP

By Mangala Pavithrani

In response to the Prisons Commissioner’s remarks that drug traffickers sentenced to death should be hanged, the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) yesterday criticised the statement, saying that executions are not the solution to Sri Lanka’s prison overcrowding.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera of the CPRP said the government’s policy is clear that the death penalty will not be carried out for now. He was commenting on a statement made by Prisons Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe, who suggested that drug traffickers sentenced to death should be hanged. The commissioner also highlighted that Sri Lanka has more than 36,000 prisoners in prisons built for just 10,500.

Perera said that by opposing the government’s policy, the Prisons Commissioner cannot be expected to properly run the prisons or ensure justice for inmates.

“Criminals are not born. They are created because of social inequalities. A crime-free society can only be achieved by removing the conditions that produce crime. Running prisons under someone who supports the death penalty will never help rehabilitation,” Perera explained.

He also said that officers with such views risk acting against the vision of the Prisons Department and are not suitable to work with prisoners.

Perera added that the slogan “Prisoners are also human beings” can only become a reality by stopping actions that deny prisoners justice.