On November 24, Nata Mullick, 73, a veteran hangman...

On November 24, Nata Mullick, 73, a veteran hangman but now an avid anti-death penalty campaigner, joined a citizens' group fighting for the abolition of capital punishment. Thousands of people have heard the third-generation executioner - who has tied the noose and pulled the lever 22 times in Calcutta jails - speak against the death penalty in packed city halls in Calcutta. "I performed an inhuman job for four decades. But I have realized that hanging is no answer for crime," Mullick said. "The death penalty has been abolished in 104 countries and India too must stop hanging criminals. We must find an alternative to killing the killers." Last week, Mullick rejected a request from prison authorities in Madras to execute the four death row convicts who killed Rajiv Gandhi. Mullick's great-grandfather migrated from Bihar and was employed by the British administration as a hangman. "I trained my only son to hang prisoners condemned to death, but now I am trying to convince him to give up this grisly family business for ever," Mullick said.