Sri Lanka is conducting a public opinion poll on the re-imposing of death penalty to evaluate whether the measure would deter the crimes committed on its citizenry.
The research opinion poll conducted by the Department of Prisons of Sri Lanka is currently administered at its stall at the Deyata Kirula National Development Exhibition currently being held in Anuradhapura, Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms has said.
Accordingly, the public are requested to fill in a questionnaire which is available at the stall.
At the end of the Deyata Kirula Exhibition, a report based on the research would be presented to the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the national news agency Lankapuvath reported
Although Sri Lanka has the legal death penalty, all death penalty cases have been commuted to life in prison and there have been no executions since 1973.
The government reinstated the death penalty in 2004 for murder, rape and drug trafficking following the murder of a high court judge.
However, since 2000 there are 1,164 death row inmates languishing in jails waiting for execution or a final decision for commutation or execution.
Source: Colombo Page, February 7, 2012
Sri Lanka: Woman sentenced to death for drug trafficking
February 6, 2012: In Sri Lanka, a woman was sentenced to death after she was found guilty of possessing and peddling 40.8 grams of heroin in Borella in 2003, by the Colombo High Court.
The accused B.N. Nilmini Samanthi alias Niluka of Borella was found guilty of the charge of possessing and peddling 40.8 grams of diacetyl-morphine (heroine).
The Attorney General had indicted the accused on two counts and further alleged that she had committed a punishable offence under section 54 (A) and 54 (B) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 1984. When the case came up before High Court Judge P. Padman Surasena, the accused was sentenced to death.
Source: www.dailymirror.lk, Feb. 6, 2012
