## Summary
Hon. Ajith P. Perera submitted Written Question No. 1630/2025 to the Minister of Justice and National Integration seeking detailed information on death row prisoners whose appeals have been exhausted and who have not received Presidential Pardon under Article 34 of the Constitution, including their names and ages. The question further seeks acknowledgement that no execution has been carried out since 1976 and that presidential commutations of death sentences to life imprisonment have been applied on an individual rather than objective basis. Perera specifically proposes that the government establish an objective, standardised framework for processing such commutations and calls for regulations under the Prisons Ordinance to formalise provisions governing the commencement date of imprisonment and sentence calculation when a death penalty is converted to a life sentence.
Question No. 1630/2025 to the Minister of Justice and National Integration:
(a) Will he state the:
(i) number of prisoners sentenced to death whose appeals against sentence have been exhausted and who have not been granted Presidential Pardon in terms of Article 34 of the Constitution; and
(ii) name and age of each of those prisoners, separately?
(b) Will he admit that:
(i) the President has not ordered any execution since 1976;
(ii) in certain cases, the President commutes the death penalty to life imprisonment in terms of Article 34(1) of the Constitution; and
(iii) this process has been carried out not on an objective basis but on an individual basis?
(c) Will he also state:
(i) the steps that will be taken to carry out the said process on an objective basis; and
(ii) whether steps will be taken to formulate regulations in accordance with the provisions of the Prisons Ordinance to formalize the provisions regarding the date of commencement of imprisonment and the subsequent serving of the sentence of imprisonment after the death penalty is converted into a life sentence?
(d) If not, why?