Church leaders in Sri Lanka added their voices to criticism of the government's decision to reinstate the death penalty

Church leaders in Sri Lanka added their voices to criticism of the government's decision to reinstate the death penalty in the country.
According to Ecumenical News International, the Protestant National Christian Council joined human rights groups and the Catholic Center for Society and Religion in opposing the restoration of the penalty for rape, murder and drug dealing.
It was on November 20 that President Chandrika Kumaratunga restored the penalty, a day after members of a suspected drug gang shot and killed high court judge Sarath Ambepitiya—a jurist known for his tough verdicts against gangsters and drug dealers. Chairperson of the National Christian Council Anglican Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe said the government had acted hastily. "Churches stand for the affirmation of life," he said. Punishment handed down by courts should be "punitive and corrective rather than destructive".
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International criticized the move as a knee-jerk reaction by the government to the judge's murder and to increasing violence in the conflict between Sri Lanka's security forces and Tamil rebels.