Mich. Dad Who Beat Daughter to Death to 'Turn Her Gay' Sentenced

A Michigan man who told police he beat his two-year-old daughter to death in 2011 in an attempt to turn her gay so she would avoid men was sentenced to 40-years in prison with a non-parole period of 18-years and nine months Monday.

According to MLive.com, Donovan Lamar Haynes, 23, was sentenced for beating his daughter, Ti'Airra Woodward, to death after pleading no contest to second-degree murder. As the publication points out, "a no contest plea is no an admission of guilt but treated as such a sentencing."

Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah also sentenced Haynes to serve a concurrent five-to-15-years in prison for first-degree child abuse.

Haynes' attorney Elbert Hatchett called him "deranged" just before Farah sentenced the father for biting and beating his toddler. Before Farah handed down his sentence, he read a report that claimed Haynes beat the girl in an attempt to turn her gay, hoping she would avoid men like Haynes, who has a history of treating women poorly.

"You don't beat her in hopes she's going to turn gay," Farah said. He added Haynes should have used his own life experiences to teach his daughter how to deal with problematic men. He also said Haynes beat his daughter to toughen her up.

"Dad took care of that," Farah said. "He took care of it in one fell swoop."

Ti'Airra was pronounced dead at Hurley Medical Center after she stopped breathing at her Flint Township, Mich., home in July 2011.

According to medical examiner's report, the toddler died of internal bleeding from a lacerated liver. Prosecutors told the court she was found unresponsive in the basement of Haynes' mother's home.

"This case is a case that defies reason, logic, common sense," said Hatchett. "[It's a] tragedy to see the life of an innocent child snuffed out for no reason at all."

The attorney also said Haynes needs to undergo psychological counseling while in prison.

"I don't have any sympathy for him," Hatchett said. "Hopefully, judge, he will repent."

Haynes could have faced life in prison if he had been found guilty of first-degree murder and torture but he agreed to a plea bargain in an arrangement with prosecutors.