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by Andrew Scott

Right now there is a ripple of animated discussion in Sri Lanka to re-introduce the death penalty in order to check the ever rising rate of murder and some of these murders are so gruesome to even hear. There is no doubt that the re-introduction of the death penalty will have a salutary effect to serve as a deterrent to all types of crime leading to murder. In this connection some facts given in the widely read book 'Hangman's Journal' should be of much interest to Sri Lankan readers.

In 1941 J. Pillai became the hangman (executioner) for the king of Travancore and over the three decades he was on call by the prison authorities in Travancore and Tamil Nadu, he executed a total of 117 condemned men to death. In the widely read book 'Hangman's Journal' his memories are recounted in great detail. The following facts collated from that book should be of interest to Sri Lankan readers specially in the wake of discussions to re-introduce the death penalty in Sri Lanka.

Silence

This master hangman says: "They tell me there is silence in the prison after a hanging. The warders are silent as we work. The scaffold itself consists of two uprights some six feet apart, with a rectangular trapdoor in between and a crosspiece across the top. It must be cleaned. The big cylindrical stone weight with the carved handle must be brought out of the storerooms where they keep it when it is not in use, for me to test the rope.

The trapdoor on which the condemned man stands is hinged at one end and held in place at the other by two tongues of steel. A detachable lever sticking out of the wooden floor right next to one of the uprights pulls back these tongues, and the trapdoor opens downwards. The lever is kept in the storeroom: this, too has to be brought out, and the mechanism oiled if it has rusted. At least three ropes must be available, they are brought from the stores along with the lever and the stone weight and a container of oil". Regarding the preparation of the noose he says: "I prepare the noose. This is a simple knot, one that I have tied many times. I could do it blindfold, but I take great care over it, for if anything goes wrong it is my responsibility".

The hangman's rope formed an important part in all executions and regarding the rope he says: "The rope is part of the ritual. It is white and soft and its fibres come apart easily. But then it is meant to be used only a very few times. The law says that at least three ropes have to be available at every hanging. Each rope has to be tested the day before the hanging, with a weight at least one and a half times the condemned man's weight. I am responsible for all that testing. A rope might be tested three or four times at most before it is used to hang a man...... In the olden days there used to be even more ritual. The hangman prepared the rope himself..... In my father's day the hangman used butter to grease the rope..... The ropes used to be kept in airtight wooden boxes and were taken out only minutes before they are tested. Then they went back into the boxes to stay there minutes before the hanging, when the hangman selected a rope.

Ropes used to be made of a special fibre from the fronds of a palm. Convicts make the ropes while they serve out their sentences. So it is possible that some day a man will be hanged to death by a rope he himself has made".

Demand

According to this hangman the ropes for the execution of condemned prisoners were in great demand as possessing a piece from one of these ropes had a mystic effect. He says: "The people say many things about the rope. Keep a small bit in your house and it will protect you from disaster. Tie a strand of it on a baby's cradle and the baby will have no nightmares; it will be safe from evil spirits...... Over the years I have heard of more things for which the rope is used. Over the years I have heard of more things for which the rope is used. One story says; burn a small length of a strand of rope. Dissolve the remnants in honey. Given to children to drink, this concoction cures stomach disorders. The strangest of them all is a cure for epilepsy. Burn a length of the hangman's rope, collect the soot from the fire, mix it thoroughly in plain water and drinking this black liquid will cure an epileptic".

Concerning the pathetic end of the condemned prisoner the hangman says: "When everything is ready, and everyone is ready, the superintendent looks at his watch to check that the time is right. When he gives the signal, I tug hard at the lever that operates the trapdoor and the man who was standing in the centre of the platform disappears. The only trace of him is the quivering of the rope, which sometimes lasts for a few minutes...... My work is done. The body will be cut down later and death certified by the doctor observing the hanging".

Repentant

On his retirement this hangman (and I suppose all others of his kind) lived in a repentant mood and mentions: "The weight of my executions, the weight of the pain I had caused the men whom I killed, the weight of the guilt of killing at least one man who had done no real wrong, all these hardened my mind. I could not eat, and sleep came rarely, I could not go back to my friends and my normal routine, or whatever I had considered normal was no longer a part of my life".

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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