Two British teens accused of murdering a 20-year-old British woman because she was a goth were given life sentences this week.

On a very early August morning last year, Sophie Lancaster was walking through a park in Bacup, Lancashire, with her boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, when they were attacked by a group of five teenage boys, ranging in age from 15 to 17. According to reports, the couple had been targeted in the past because they were goth. Both were so brutally assaulted that they were left comatose. Robert recovered, but Sophie died two weeks later from her serious head injuries.

Brendan Harris, 15, and Ryan Herbert, 16, were sentenced to life, while the other three teens involved will serve 4 to 6 years each.

In delivering his sentence, Judge Anthony Russell stated that "your behavior on that night degrades humanity itself...This was a hate crime against these completely harmless people targeted because their appearance was different to yours."

During the sentencing, a statement by Sophie's boyfriend Robert was read to the court in which he wrote, "I'm finding the whole world a terrifying place."

Judge Russell went on to defend the goth community, calling goths "perfectly peaceful, law-abiding people who pose no threat to anybody."