Nearly six years after the brutal murders of West Coast Berbice cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry, the two men convicted of the killings were on Wednesday each sentenced to two life terms in prison, with Justice Simone Morris ordering that the sentences run concurrently and that they serve a minimum of 35 years before becoming eligible for parole.

The sentences were imposed on Anil Sancharra, called “Rasta” and “Dan Pole”, and Vinod Gopaul, known as “Magga”, following their unanimous convictions on two counts of murder by a 12-member jury last month.

In handing down sentence in the Berbice High Court, Justice Morris said the punishment had to reflect not only the horrific nature of the killings but also the devastating consequences for the victims’ families and society, while remaining firmly grounded in the evidence presented before the court.