Bout, who was the subject of a book titled "Merchant of Death," asserted his innocence during the sentencing, telling the judge through a Russian interpreter, "I never intended to kill anyone. I never intended to sell arms to anyone. God knows this truth. He then pointed at federal agents sitting in the front row. "These people know this truth," Bout said. They will live with this truth....God forgive you. You will answer to him, not to me. Arrested in Bangkok in 2008 after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sting operation and later extradited to New York to face trial, Bout was convicted by a Manhattan federal court jury last fall. The three-week trial centered on charges he agreed to sell arms to people he thought were Colombian militants intent on attacking American soldiers. Bout's capture came less than a year after the publication of "Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible," written by investigative journalists Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun. The 2007 book chronicled Bout's life as an arms dealer and how he evaded capture for years. He was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and officers of the United States and one count each of conspiracy to sell anti-aircraft missiles and providing material support to a terrorist organization. Defense attorney Albert Dayan argued on Thursday that the government's case had "built-in reasonable doubt" because it was based entirely on Bout's promises, rather than his actions. He argued that the crimes for which Bout was convicted were intended to target "terrorists, people bent on destroying Americans, people who aren't deterred by life sentences. This is not Viktor Bout. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin noted that federal sentencing guidelines called for a life sentence, due in part to Bout's conviction on a crime of terrorism. But, she said, the fact that Bout's conduct was a result of a government sting operation was a mitigating factor despite his long history of arms dealing. "But for the approach made in this determined sting operation, it is unclear that Mr. Bout would have committed the charged crimes," she said.