COLUMBUS, Ga. -- A west Georgia woman who whipped her mother's adopted 4-year-old daughter with a telephone cord has been sentenced to three years in prison for cruelty to children.

Muscogee County Senior Judge Bill Smith also sentenced Latwyla M. Harris, 25, to seven years' probation for the March 2007 incident. Police said Harris dropped the child off at the home of her sister, who called 911 when she noticed the marks on the girl's body.

The child was treated for serious injuries after the beating.

Harris' defense lawyer, Michael Garner, told the judge his client didn't know she was hitting the child that hard. Garner said she had no experience caring for children when she took over the task of raising the girl after her mother's death.