Ala Grandma Charged in Running Death Due in Court
An Alabama woman accused of making her 9-year-old granddaughter run until she collapsed and died is due in court.
An Etowah County judge told Joyce Hardin Garrard and attorneys to attend a hearing Monday afternoon in Gadsden.
Garrard’s capital murder trial is scheduled to begin in about a month, and the judge is considering several requests from lawyers.
Among the motions is a defense request to prevent lawyers from eliminating potential jurors who oppose capital punishment. The judge also is overseeing the process of prosecutors and defense lawyers swapping evidence before the trial.
Prosecutors say the 49-year-old Garrard made Savannah Hardin run for three hours as punishment for a lie about candy. The child collapsed in February 2012 and died days later in a hospital.
Garrard says she is innocent.
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