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A young father has been jailed for 25 years for severely burning his baby daughter when he put her in a microwave and turned it on for up to 20 seconds.
The jury in Galveston, Texas, rejected Joshua Mauldin's claims he was insane when he put his two-month-old daughter Ana in the microwave.
He was convicted of injuring a child. He was also fined 10,000 dollars (£4,981). Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence.
Mauldin's attorney asked jurors to consider Mauldin's long history of mental illness and give him probation so he could be treated outside prison.
Mauldin was teary-eyed after hearing the sentence. His mother sobbed in the courtroom after the verdict was read out.
Relatives of the little girl were set to read victim impact statements in court, where they would tell Mauldin how the crime has affected their lives.
Just before putting her in the Galveston hotel-room microwave, Mauldin had punched the baby and placed her in the room's safe and refrigerator.
Prosecutors said Mauldin hurt his daughter because he was angry that he was in a loveless marriage. They also said Mauldin had a history of violence and of lying about being mentally ill to get out of trouble.
Mauldin claimed he started hallucinating when he was left alone in the hotel room with his daughter, feeling like mud was running up his body and consuming him.
Ana suffered second- and third-degree burns to her left ear, cheek, hand and shoulder and required two skin grafts. Part of her left ear had to be amputated.
The jury in Galveston, Texas, rejected Joshua Mauldin's claims he was insane when he put his two-month-old daughter Ana in the microwave.
He was convicted of injuring a child. He was also fined 10,000 dollars (£4,981). Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence.
Mauldin's attorney asked jurors to consider Mauldin's long history of mental illness and give him probation so he could be treated outside prison.
Mauldin was teary-eyed after hearing the sentence. His mother sobbed in the courtroom after the verdict was read out.
Relatives of the little girl were set to read victim impact statements in court, where they would tell Mauldin how the crime has affected their lives.
Just before putting her in the Galveston hotel-room microwave, Mauldin had punched the baby and placed her in the room's safe and refrigerator.
Prosecutors said Mauldin hurt his daughter because he was angry that he was in a loveless marriage. They also said Mauldin had a history of violence and of lying about being mentally ill to get out of trouble.
Mauldin claimed he started hallucinating when he was left alone in the hotel room with his daughter, feeling like mud was running up his body and consuming him.
Ana suffered second- and third-degree burns to her left ear, cheek, hand and shoulder and required two skin grafts. Part of her left ear had to be amputated.
