“THE EXECUTIONER’S SONG” – By Des Kelly

Another story, for what it is worth, comes to us from the “Washington Post”, in America, stating that Sri Lanka, who has carried the “Death Penalty” Sentence on it’s Legal System for many years now, without actually “carrying” it out, is presently looking for some young, fit, guy to join the Government to help them start hanging Criminals by the neck, until they are dead. I believe, on very good authority, that there are many of these “dead men walking”, in “Death Row” right now. These people have now been in the situation where it is possible that they think, that their death sentence could be reduced to a life behind bars, and rightfully so, but the latest sad truth of the matter is that, very soon, some young guy will be up there on the scaffold with them, rope noose in hand, waiting for the signal to place it around the neck of the one (probably blind-folded), and pull the lever that sends them downwards to their doom, not the best job, but someone has to do it.

While it is the right of any Country to have the Death Penalty on it’s law books, I am concerned about the fact that this penalty is not carried out as soon as possible after it has been proven beyond doubt the the criminal was guilty of the crime committed.

Getting back to America again, in cell 2455, San Quinton Jail, the “Red-light Bandit” Caryl Chessman, who was sentenced to death, spent many years, even wrote books in there, and cheated death no less than eight times, when reprieved at the last moment, before the “gas” button was pressed to kill him in the “chair”. Imagine THIS dead man walking to the gas chamber EIGHT times, having to be unstrapped, walking back to his cell & then walking back for the 9th time, to be strapped in, again, this time to pay for his crimes, and yet, just a couple of minutes after he died, another telephone call came through (a little too late), reprieving him once again. This is what I do not like about the Death Penalty.

Goodies may come out and say ” Ban the death penalty”.

This, however would not be their cry, if one of THEIR loved ones had been raped/and, or murdered. There IS such a penalty and everyone knows it. If you commit the crime, you do the time, if you plan to kill another human being, expect your own life to be cut short, as well.

The Executioner’s Song was recorded by Waylon Jennings who then sang it, as the coffin of Gary Gilmore, another convicted murderer was being taken out to the cemetery for burial. It was a sad song, also entitled “Defying Gravity”, so there you have it, my readers of eLanka.

The Washington Post got the “scoop”, If the Death Penalty is now carried out in Sri Lanka, you have been told about it.