Two British men, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who were found guilty of the murder of Lee Rigby in London last May will be sentenced later today (26/02/14) at the Old bailey in London.
A Jury of eight men and four women had found both men guilty of murder last year.
They were, however, found not guilty of attempting to murder a police-officer at the scene of the incident.
The two men attacked and killed a serving British soldier who was in between tours as he returned to his barracks on 22nd May 2013.
According to reports it took the Jury about 90-minutes to come out with a guilty verdict.
Before the Jury began their deliberation, the presiding judge, Mr. Justice Sweeney had directed the jury that Adebolajo’s evidence that the two accused persons were “soldiers of Allah” did not amount to a valid legal defence.
Mr Justice Sweeney said he will pass sentence after a key appeal court ruling on the use of whole life terms in January.
British Justices have ruled that ‘life’ should be literary interpreted to mean the entire duration of the prisoner’s natural life and not a fixed term of years.
As a result of this ruling it is likely that Adebolajo and Adebowale will be spending the rest of their natural lives behind bars.
