<p>Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Thakur were executed today for the gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 2012. These executions mark a disheartening development in use of the death penalty in India. There is no evidence that the death penalty acts as a particular deterrent to crime, and its use will not eradicate violence against women in India, said Amnesty International India today.</p>