Introduction There are ideologies in favour of and against the implementation of the Death Sentence around the world at present. The basic idea of the principle of Five precepts which is closely linked with Buddhism is to abstain from harming the lives of the others. Similarly, the idea to the effect “do not kill” has been highly emphasized in the ‘Ten Commandments’ which is said to have been donated to the prophet Moses , father of the religious principles of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Islam and Judah by God. But as far as public administration is concerned, written evidences are available to the effect that the Death Penalty has been implemented as punishments to various offences from the ancient times in countries around the world. The text “THE HISTORICAL RELATION OF ISLAND OF CEYLON” written by Robert Knox has unveiled information relevant to the reign of King Rajasinghe II of Kandyan era. In this text ,he has mentioned that 32 punishments were implemented to punish offenders of different offences when he was staying in Sri Lanka and that the Death Penalty too was among the said punishments. During that period the Death Penalty has been performed in different guises. Knox, in his text has explained that methods like beheading, cramping (trampling) using elephants ,tying the offender between two trees which have been drawn together and releasing the trees to the normal position were utilized and as a whole, the aforesaid methods of punishments were entirely cruel and full of violence. Similarly, those who were against the state were also sentenced to Death during the Kandyan era. King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, the final ruler of Kandy, at one moment killed one of his Majors by the name of Lewke Disawa (officer in charge of a region) under the presumption that he had gone against his rule. Similarly, having suspicion against his first Adikaram Ehelepola to have conspired with British against the king , all the members of the Ehelepola family were given Death Sentence. There, punishments like putting the small infants inside a mortar and trampling, drowning women in water with stones hung on their necks and beheading boys were performed. It is reported that these punishments were implemented in a very cruel and violent manner. 1