Atlanta ? Victims of Eric Rudolph’s bombs confronted him in court Monday, describing him as a small man who cowardly fled amid his carnage, before a judge sentenced him to life in prison.

Just before his sentence was handed down, Rudolph apologized to the victims of the 1996 Olympics blast in Atlanta, saying “I would do anything to take that night back.”

He said he had wanted to anger and embarrass the federal government because it does not prohibit abortions, and that he wanted to harm only government workers.

“I can’t begin to truly understand the pain that I have inflicted on these innocent people,” Rudolph said, reading a statement. “To those victims, I apologize.”

Rudolph was sentenced to life in prison without parole – four consecutive life sentences plus 120 years – and $2.3 million in restitution for a series of bombings across the South, including the Olympics blast and two other bombings in the Atlanta area. Last month, he was sentenced to life in prison for a deadly explosion in Birmingham, Ala.