Man gets 25 years for microwaving baby

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- A jury sentenced a young father Wednesday to 25 years in prison for severely burning his infant daughter after putting her in a microwave and turning it on for up to 20 seconds.

Joshua Mauldin was teary-eyed after hearing the sentence. His mother sobbed loudly in the courtroom.

The jury had convicted Mauldin on Tuesday of felony injury to a child, rejecting his claims that he was insane when he put his daughter Ana in the microwave last year.
Prosecutors had wanted him sentenced to the maximum of life in prison. Still, Galveston County prosecutor Xochitl Vandiver said she was satisfied with the sentence.

"It's extremely important for people to know that just because this case was sensational, it doesn't mean that (child abuse) goes away," she said. "Child abuse is an important issue. It should be focused on."

Sam Cammack III, Mauldin's attorney, had asked jurors to consider his client's long history of mental illness and sentence him to probation so he could be treated at a hospital.

"He still doesn't get the treatment for mental illness that he needs," Cammack said. "He's not going to get that in prison."
Jurors deliberated for 61/2 hours over two days before sentencing Mauldin. They also fined him $10,000.
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