A judge on Friday sentenced to death the four men convicted of brutally raping and murdering a 23-year old woman while on board a bus. The decision comes just a couple days after the victim’s family, as well as many prominent politicians and people, called for the death penalty in order to make clear that such crimes would not be tolerated or treated lightly in India.
The December attack shocked not only India, but the rest of the world. According to The Wall Street Journal, the crime prompted many demonstrations and questions about sexual assault and violence against women in India, a serious problem that many thought would be solved by more serious sentences (such as the death penalty).
Three days after finding the men guilty, Judge Yogesh Khanna sentenced them to be hanged for their crimes, saying the brutality and level of violence involved in the attack had “shocked the collective conscience [of India].”
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde voiced his support for the sentence on India Express, calling the sentence just, and saying that the ruling made clear “that if you commit such a heinous crime, then you will get a stringent punishment.” Shinde also largely dismissed the complaints of the defense, including A.P Singh who believed the verdict was delivered under “political pressure,” stating that "[t]he judiciary follows the law and not political pressure.”
Photo courtesy of Jim Ankan Deka, Wikimedia Commons.