( CNN ) -- Two men convicted of killing a British soldier on a London street last year were sentenced Wednesday , one to life in prison and the other to a minimum of 45 years . In a brutal attack recorded on closed-circuit TV and by bystanders , Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale hit soldier Lee Rigby with a car then hacked him to death with a meat cleaver and knives in May 2013 . The Islamic converts , through testimony or their lawyers ' arguments in court , indicated they killed Rigby for Allah . Cellphone footage replayed at the trial showed Adebolajo , still clutching a cleaver in his bloody hands , ranting that the killing was `` an eye for an eye , a tooth for a tooth '' for British soldiers killing Muslims overseas . They were convicted of murder in December . Adebolajo will spend life in prison . Adebowale received a sentence of at least 45 years . Rigby , who had served in Afghanistan and was off duty when he was killed at the age of 25 , left behind a wife and a young son . The prosecution had asked for the maximum possible sentence : life imprisonment without parole . But defense lawyers argued Wednesday for leniency . Barrister David Gottlieb told the court that the victim was chosen because he was a member of the armed forces and that no one else was hurt in the attack . Prosecutor Sue Hemming said the pair `` reveled in one of the most appalling terrorist murders I have ever seen . '' `` Not only was the attack brutal and calculated , it was also designed to advance extremist views , '' she said in a prepared statement . `` As a solider , Fusilier Lee Rigby was targeted in a clear act of revenge , deliberately carried out in full view of members of the public for maximum impact . '' Family members attended court Wednesday to hear the sentences handed down . Outside the court , demonstrators from the English Defence League , a far-right group , carried signs calling for capital punishment to be restored . Britain abolished the death penalty in the 1960s . ' I am a soldier of Allah ' At the trial , the prosecution said that the pair -- both born and raised in Britain by families of Christian Nigerian origin -- deliberately attacked an unarmed man from behind , using a vehicle as a weapon , and that they murdered him and mutilated his body . At trial , Adebolajo denied the charges of murder on the grounds that he had acted from religious conviction . He converted to Islam in 2002 to 2003 , while at a university . Adebowale , who did not take the stand , converted to Islam more recently , in 2008 to 2009 . In court , Adebolajo gave a matter-of-fact account of his actions . He declared himself a warrior for Allah and said he saw al Qaeda as his `` brothers in Islam . '' He testified the only way he knew that Rigby was a soldier was because of his backpack . Summing up the case before the jury deliberated , Judge Nigel Sweeney reminded jurors of what happened in the 13 minutes between Rigby 's body being dragged into the middle of a road near the Woolwich barracks and the arrival of police . The judge also cited details of Adebolajo 's police interview and witness testimony , including that he loved al Qaeda and that he had tried to cut off Rigby 's head because it was the proper method under Allah . When asked at the trial what his defense to the charge of murder was , Adebolajo said : `` I am a soldier . I am a soldier of Allah . '' May : 'Sickening and barbaric ' Though Adebowale did not give evidence at the trial , his lawyer , Abbas Lakha , echoed Adebolajo 's testimony regarding their intent . The judge told the jury that the defense 's argument -- that Rigby 's killing was an act of war or of retaliation -- did not apply . Adebolajo and Adebowale were found not guilty of attempted murder of a police officer in the case . The prosecution had argued that when they ran toward the police vehicle that responded after Rigby 's murder -- with Adebolajo holding a knife and Adebowale a gun -- they intended to kill an officer . However , the defense argued that the two men wanted to be killed by police . The gun was not loaded . At the time of the verdict , Home Secretary Theresa May said the `` sickening and barbaric murder '' of Rigby had `` united the entire nation in condemnation . '' `` Violence and extremism of any kind have absolutely no place in our society and can not be justified , '' she said . CNN 's Kellie Morgan , Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Carol Jordan contributed to this report .
NEW : Michael Adebolajo is sentenced to life in prison for killing UK soldier . The jury at Woolwich Crown Court heard how the two men were inspired by Islamic State and went on a shooting spree with an AK-47 assault rifle before being shot dead by police. Michael Adebowale is sentenced to at least 45 years in Lee Rigby 's death . The pair hit Rigby with a car , hacked him to death with meat cleaver and knives . Adebolajo , a convert to Islam , indicated he believed himself a warrior for Allah .