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Prison officials picking out gentler name for ‘hangman’
View(s):The authorities are sifting through 200 new names to pick one that will replace the word ‘hangman’ in a move to encourage applicants for the job that is currently vacant, a senior prisons official said yesterday.He said that new names such as ‘gallows operator’, etc., had been provided by members of the public who had responded to a media advertisement placed by the prison authorities at the start of this year.
He said the file containing the names have been handed over to the Prisons Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera.The names will be later shown to language experts and a combined effort that includes all stakeholders will thereafter be taken to arrive at a new name for ‘hangman’, the official said. “The whole idea is to have a name with a more humane character that will get individuals interested in the job. The present name ‘hangman’ or in Sinhala ‘wadakaya’ sounds crude and frightening and offers little chance of getting an individual or individuals interested in the job,” the official added.
The fresh move comes after four persons who were recruited for the post quit without prior notice barely weeks after taking up the job.