MADISON, Wis. -- A local day care provider accused in the death a child in her care was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Thursday.

Last April, Jennifer Hancock, 38, was found guilty on first-degree reckless homicide charges. She was accused in the death of a 4-month-old infant Lincoln Wilber, who stopped breathing at Hancock's home in 2007. An autopsy concluded the boy died from non-accidental abusive head trauma.

Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan handed down the sentence Thursday during an emotional hearing in a packed courtroom. The judge also sentenced Hancock to seven years of supervision after she is released from prison.

Before handing down the sentence, the judge heard statements from friends and family of both the victim and defendant in a three-hour sentencing hearing.

The baby's mother, Erin Wilber, struggled through her words as she explained to the court how difficult it was to take her 4-month-old infant off life support.

"I didn't know how I was ever going to let Lincoln go," Erin Wilber said. "He had his entire life ahead of him. I had a lifetime of hugs and kisses to give to him. I didn't want to live my life without Lincoln. But I knew it wasn't fair to allow him to lay there with a breathing tube down his throat and a tube in his head."

"Lincoln was such a blessing to our lives -- and you, Jennifer Hancock, took that away," said Deb Wittenmeyer, Lincoln's grandmother. "We will forever carry the ache of missing him and that will never change. The day of Lincoln's first Christmas, he was laid to rest. The week of Lincoln's first birthday, he received a headstone."

Hancock's supporters, like friend Janet Fritz, asked the judge to have mercy on her.

"I believe in Jennifer," Fritz said. "I feel for the Wilber's -- but I believe in her innocence. The death of Lincoln was a tragedy, but I now feel that a second tragedy is being created."

At her turn to speak, Hancock addressed the Wilber family.

"This is the first time in almost two years that I've been allowed to tell you how sorry I am for your loss," Hancock said. "I wish that my family would have had the opportunity to mourn with you over the loss of Lincoln. I don't know why Lincoln died -- I wish I could provide the answers. I hope and pray that as each day goes by, your hearts will heal and you can remember all the happy times you had together."

Hancock was the only adult caring for the child in a Verona home when he suffered a head injury. Hancock told police she found him unresponsive when she checked on him.

Hancock told the judge that she plans to appeal her conviction.

Hancock faced up to 60 years in prison and extended supervision.