Delhi rapists hanged. Indian doctor: Human life is sacred

The detainees were between 25 and 32 years old. The death sentence was carried out a few hours after the last rejection on appeal by the Supreme Court. A religious sister, also a raper victim: “Crimes against women are the most hateful and must be punished, but not with the death penalty. I am not seeking revenge, only justice ".

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - The four men who raped and brutally beat a medical student in Delhi in 2012 were hanged in Tihar prison this morning. The sentence was executed at 5.30 am, a few hours after the last rejection of the Indian Supreme Court to grant a review.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Mumbai based Dr. Pascoal Carvalho,  a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, declares: “Human life must always be defended. Every life is sacred. I am against the death penalty. "

The prisoners who were hanged are: Mukesh Singh (32 years old), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). The case of the 23 year old girl, who died after weeks of agony in a Singapore hospital in December 2012, was one of the worst episodes of sexual violence ever committed in India. The story of the young woman, tortured with a steel stick on a bus in the capital, led to a profound rethinking of the role of women in society.

Sister Meena Barwa, the woman religious raped by Hindu radicals during the Kandhamal pogroms in 2008, says: "I have two feelings: on the one hand I am against the death penalty and I feel bad for these men, who could not be saved, [while ] could have been reformed and transformed. On the other hand, this is a lesson for everyone. Justice is done. Such crimes against women are the most hateful and require the hardest punishment, but not the death penalty. I am not seeking revenge, but only justice ".

According to Dr. Carvalho, "the crime against India’s daughter was most heinous, and Justice must be done, however, we must seek alternative ways  to punish criminals and to protect society that are more respectful of human life.. Most death sentences were imposed for murders, and murders involving sexual violence, at 45 and 58 respectively in 2018. However, there is no scientifically conclusive evidence, that death penalty has acted as a deterrent for sexual crimes against women. Instead, the person should be sentenced to life imprisonment."

The doctor reminds that Pope Francis "Pope Francis has changed Catholic Church teaching to fully reject the death penalty, the Vatican announced Thursday, saying it would work to abolish capital punishment worldwide.  The 2018 CCC edition states, “The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."

Meanwhile, this morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Twitter profile lauded the executions and declared: "Justice prevailed". At the same time, dozens of people were gathered outside the prison to celebrate the hanging. For the International Commission of Jurists, the death sentence for rapists "was an affront to the rule of law and does not improve access to justice for women."