Maru Sira

He had a daughter with Ranmenika, and the reason for him to escape the jail was solely to see his daughter who was only 3 days old. After escaping for a third time, Sira was sentenced to death in absentia for the killing of a man in March 1974. He was subsequently captured and sent to the Bogambara Prison in Colombo, to await his execution on August 5, 1975.[3]

On the night before the execution prison guards gave Sira a high dose of Largactil to prevent an escape attempt. The overdose caused Sira to collapse into a state of unconsciousness from which he never recovered. He was carried to the scaffold on a stretcher and laid across the trapdoor. The noose was then placed around his neck and the trapdoor was opened. Due to the short fall (2 ft. 2 in.) caused by his slumped position Sira died from slow strangulation. If he had been standing he would have died instantly from a cervical fracture.[3]

News of Sira's slow death led to public outrage. A presidential commission was appointed to look into the controversial execution. Two popular films Siripala and Ranmenika and Maruwa Samaga Wase were made based on Sira's story.[4] Baila singer Anton Jones wrote and sang a song detailing his exploits.