Agampodi Dewa Nandana vs Hon. Attorney General – CA 13/2008-2014

In the case between Agampodi Dewa Nandana (Accused-Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the central issue concerned whether the conviction and death sentence for murder should be upheld, given that the prosecution’s case rested primarily on a confession to the deceased’s mother and circumstantial evidence. Upon review, it was determined that the conviction was unsafe due to the unreliable nature of the confession, inconsistencies in witness testimony, absence of independent forensic corroboration, and evidence of animosity between the parties. The principle emphasized was that criminal convictions must be supported by reliable and corroborative evidence, and reliance solely on disputed confessions and unsubstantiated inferences does not satisfy the required standard of pr