Sri Lanka's Supreme Court

SRI LANKA: DEATH SENTENCE OVERTURNED FOR 80-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN 1993 MURDER

July 21, 2025:

An 80-year-old woman who had been sentenced to death in Sri Lanka by the Hambantota High Court for a 1993 murder was acquitted and released by the Court of Appeal on July 18, 2025 bringing an end to a 32-year legal battle.
The woman, Sirima Edirisuriya, was initially convicted over the killing of a man in Modarapilluwa, Hambantota, alongside two others. The case, filed in 1999, saw delays, retrials, and the deaths of the co-accused over the decades.
Her appeal highlighted inconsistencies in witness testimony, particularly from the deceased victim’s daughters.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court had failed to properly analyze the contradictions in evidence, raising doubts about her guilt.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Amal Ranaraja ordered her release, citing insufficient grounds to uphold the death sentence based on unreliable testimony.