New Hangman Sees Gallows, Quits

Sri Lanka is looking for a new hangman after its latest recruit quit in horror at his first sight of the gallows. The country's prison commissioner says the man was "shocked and afraid" after seeing the gallows after a week of training, reports the BBC. He is the third hangman to quit in the space of the year. "Next time, we will show the gallows to the new recruits before giving them basic training," the commissioner tells Reuters. Whoever gets the job will be mostly doing clerical work: The country hasn't executed anybody since 1976, though there are more than 400 inmates on death row. (More Sri Lanka stories.)