The judge presiding over the sentencing in an international criminal court near The Hague said Mr. Taylor had been found guilty of "aiding and abetting, as well as planning, some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history" and that the lengthy prison term underscored his position at the top of government during that period.
"Leadership must be carried out by example by the prosecution of crimes, not the commission of crimes," the judge, Richard Lussick, said in a statement read before the court.
Mr. Taylor was the first head of state convicted by an international court since the Nuremberg trials after World War II. This means that 64-year-old Mr. Taylor will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Asked to stand as the sentence was read, he looked at the floor.
After more than a year of deliberations, the Special Court for Sierra Leone found Mr. Taylor guilty in late April of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his part in fomenting mass brutality that included murder, rape, the use of child soldiers, the mutilation of thousands of civilians, and the mining of diamonds to pay for guns and ammunition. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Taylor was motivated in these gruesome actions not by any ideology but rather by "pure avarice" and a thirst for power.
Mr. Taylor did not speak at the sentencing on Wednesday, but in a hearing earlier this month he offered his sympathy - but not an apology - to the victims and their families for a gruesome conflict that left an estimated 50,000 dead. "I express my sadness and sympathy for crimes suffered by individuals and families in Sierra Leone," Mr. Taylor said during a roughly 30-minute address to the court.
But he also defended himself and seemed to explain his actions in the context of a desire for regional stability. "What I did was done with honor," he said. "I was convinced that unless there was peace in Sierra Leone, Liberia would not be able to move forward."
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