Convicted cop killer William Maurice Woodard got life in prison without the possibility of parole this afternoon from a DeKalb jury.

Woodard, 31, was convicted Oct. 12 in the shooting deaths of DeKalb County Police Officers Eric C. Barker and Ricky L. Bryant Jr. in January 2008.

He was found guilty on all counts – malice murder, felony murder, possession of a weapon during a felony, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and was facing the death penalty.

Barker, 33, and Bryant, 26, worked at the DeKalb South Precinct on Candler Road. They were gunned down at 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 16, 2008, at the Glenwood Garden Apartments in Decatur. The officers, who were dressed in police uniforms, were working off-duty security jobs at the apartment complex.

They were the first two DeKalb police officers to lose their lives in the line of duty at the same time. The married fathers had eight children between them.

During his trial, Woodard's lawyers argued that he was a man "fearing for his life" when he shot the off-duty officers.

Even though four men were first arrested for the slayings, Woodard was the only one tried for the murders of the two officers.