A Texas court today handed Elizabeth Escalona a 99-year prison sentence for abusing her toddler so savagely the child nearly died, reported ABC News.
Escalona was accused of tormenting her two-year-old daughter by supergluing her hands to the wall and beating her so severely she was left in a coma for days, said CBS. Jocelyn, one of Escalona's five children, suffered bleeding in her brain.
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Texas judge Larry Mitchell, speaking at the end of a five-day hearing today, told Escalona: "On Sept. 7, 2011, you savagely beat your child to the edge of death. For this you must be punished," reported ABC.
Police said Escalona, who plead guilty in July to charges of injuring a child, abused Jocelyn because she was frustrated with potty training problems, reported CBS.
During the hearing, the prosecutor described Escalona as a monster, and displayed huge photos of Jocelyn's injuries in front of the child's accused 23-year-old mother. The defense argued that the attack came from a person broken by society, the product of a troubled home, surrounded by drugs, and unable to cope, according to ABC.
All of Escalona's children are now being cared for by grandparents.
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