Sri Lanka advertises hangman gig as 'light administrative work'

The first two hangmen didn't show up for work. The next hangman quit after seeing the gallows during his training, citing shock. Of the next 24 applicants for the job, only 14 went to the job interview. It seems that being an executor in Sri Lanka isn't all it's cracked up to be.

There hasn't actually been an execution in Sri Lanka since 1976, but some 1,116 convicts have ended up on death row anyway, the BBC reports. While Sri Lanka has finally acknowledged that it no longer executes people, some oppose the government's stance and want the death penalty brought back due to a rise in violent crime and drug trafficking following the end of the civil war in 2009.

Which, of course, leads to the hunt for a new hangman. But officials, who advertised the position as "light administrative work only," are still having trouble finding anyone who actually wants the grisly job.

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"Even if they want me to execute someone, I am ready," one applicant, who was supposedly "attracted by the light workload," said. He added, "But it looks unlikely."