The Price of Piracy: 19 Consecutive Life Sentences, No Parole

A federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia has sentenced a Somali pirate - Ahmed Muse Salad - to 19 consecutive life sentences in prison for his role in the shooting deaths of four Americans.

Salad was one of three Somalis convicted in the February 2011 murders of the Americans aboard the yacht Quest off the coast of Africa. In total, 19 men boarded the yacht in hopes of taking the Americans back to Somalia to be ransomed for millions of dollars. The plan fell apart when the U.S. Navy began shadowing the 58-foot vessel.

Prosecutors say Salad repeatedly fired an AK-47 at the Americans after negotiations broke down. They say he showed no remorse and bragged about killing them. In a brief statement before his sentence was handed down, Salad said through an interpreter that he was "very sorry" for the Americans' deaths – according to ABC News.

The two other defendants face sentencing in a U.S. District Court in Norfolk later this week. A jury convicted all three men of 26 felonies on July 8. Salad received 19 consecutive life terms, plus 30 years, with no possibility of parole. Eleven of the Somalis captured on the yacht pleaded guilty, and they all also received life sentences.

The hefty sentence is hoped to serve as a warning to other pirates. Prosecutors had originally sought the death penalty, but a federal jury refused that sentence.

Miss our previous coverage on this story?

Somali Pirate Leader and Guard Get Life Prison Sentence for US Yacht Hijacking Leaving 4 Dead

Three Somalis Convicted of Piracy, Murder in Yacht Attack off Oman