The man who confessed to shooting two soldiers outside a Little Rock, Ark., military recruiting station in 2009 was sentenced to 12 life terms Monday without the possibility of parole.

Abdulhakim Muhammad, 26, pleaded guilty for killing Pvt. William Andrew Long and wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, who still has shrapnel in his body from the bullets fired by Muhammad.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.

The deal was accepted only after it had been relayed to the victims' families, who decided they could tolerate a life sentence, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"They showed a heck of a lot more mercy to Abdulhakim Muhammad … than he did to their boys," said Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' 6th Judicial District.

Muhammad had attempted to plead guilty before, but Arkansas law doesn't allow it in death penalty cases.