Three men were sentenced to death in India on Friday for the gang rapes of two women in Mumbai.
Vijay Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim and Salim Ansari were sentenced to death for two rapes that took place last year. Indian law sets death as the maximum possible sentence when there is more than one conviction of sexual assault, according to public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
“We have to send out the right signal to society,” Nikam said. “It is necessary that the lives of the accused come to an end. They must die.”
According to CNN, there were two others involved in the rapes, both juveniles, that are only facing jail time. They have the option to appeal their cases to courts higher in the system, however the judge, Judge Phansalkar-Joshi, has also expressed that they need to pay for their crimes.
The New York Times reports that India is taking a large zero-tolerance stance on most sexual offenses. A minimum sentence for an offense of this kind in India is life in prison for repeat offenders.