Mom kept adopted daughter in chicken coop, authorities say

A jury has found a Georgia mother guilty of confining her adopted daughter in various buildings on family property and denying the girl of food and comfort. On one occasion, she put a gun to the child's head and threatened to shoot, Athens Banner reported. 

According to court records, Diana Franklin gained custody of the 10-year-old child in 2007 and maintained custody until social workers removed the girl from Franklin's care in 2012.

During this time, the family moved to a 73-acre property on which Franklin locked her daughter in buildings that had no electricity or plumbing. The child was also locked away without food or water, and sometimes without clothing. The structures included a chicken coop, an outhouse, a cinderblock garage and a shipping container. 

Although Franklin claimed her daughter was never locked in and was free to come and go, her claims were contradicted by entries she made in her personal journal. She referred to the outhouse as the daughter's "new jail" that was "perfect for her" and finished the sentence by drawing a smiley face at the end.

In the prosecutor's closing argument, Wayne Jernigan told jurors that Franklin faked emotion during her testimony and pretended to cry "crocodile tears," yet "not one tear came off her cheek." 

After jurors deliberated for a little over an hour and a half, Franklin was convicted of 19 counts of first-degree cruelty to children, eight counts of false imprisonment and one count of aggravated assault. If Franklin receives the maximum on each count, she would be sentenced to 480 years in prison.