Less than a month after a Richardson man said he'd accept any punishment jurors chose, he has appealed the life sentence they gave him in connection with the death of his adopted daughter.

In a court motion filed this week, attorneys for Wesley Mathews, 39, requested a new trial, arguing that evidence presented against him was prejudicial.

Wesley Mathews (Dallas County Sheriff's Department)

Mathews avoided a capital murder trial by pleading guilty to a lesser charge, injury to a child by omission, in the October 2017 death of Sherin Mathews.

After telling the jury how much he regretted dumping the 3-year-old's body in a culvert, he testified he'd accept life in prison.

"I'm more than happy to take it," he said.

Mathews has said Sherin died after she choked on milk in the family's garage.

He said fear prevented him from waking his wife — a registered nurse — or calling 911 for help. Instead, he drove the child's body to the culvert, where it was found two weeks later, severely decomposed.

Mathews' attorneys argue that he deserves a new trial in part because prosecutors showed the jury a photo of Sherin's body. The picture was prejudicial and prevented Mathews from getting a fair trial, they say.

"Jurors expressed visible emotion when shown the exhibits," said Brook A. Busbee, one of his attorneys.

She also argued that the state lacked evidence to show Mathews was responsible for broken bones Sherin suffered while she was in his care and that the material "unfairly prejudiced the jury."

Mathews and his wife, Sini Mathews, adopted Sherin from India in 2016.

Mathews' attorneys could not be reached for comment Thursday. Jason Fine, the lead prosecutor at Mathews' trial, also was unavailable to comment Thursday.