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"There was a verdict in the case - guilty of capital murder,"
said Natalie Barton, director of communicationsfor the Etowah
County Sheriff's Office.
Joyce Garrard, 49, was accused of making Savannah Hardin run
nonstop at her home in 2012 for lying about having eaten
forbidden chocolates, a prosecutor said at her trial.
The girl collapsed, went into seizures and died days later in
hospital from dehydration and low sodium, authorities said.
Etowah County assistant district attorney Marcus Reid told the
jury during opening statements that Garrard acted like Sergeant
Vince Carter, the drill instructor in the TV series Gomer Pyle
U.S.M.C..
He said Garrard gave different accounts about what had happened
when police and paramedics arrived at the home: that the girl
had fallen in the yard, that she had a seizure, or had a
neurological problem.
Defense attorney Dani Bone argued that Hardin did not die as a
result of dehydration but had retained too much water in her
body.
The girl suffered from unspecified medical issues that resulted
in frequent visits to doctors, according to court documents.
Garrard lost a request to move the trial to a venue where the
case is less well known.
Garrard said in a conversation with the driver captured on a bus
video "she's going to run till I tell her to stop," as
punishment.
Hardin had a bladder condition and was not allowed to have
anything containing caffeine, Garrard told the bus driver.
The child's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, has also been
charged with murder for allegedly witnessing the punishment and
failing to intervene.
Sentencing for Garrard is set for Monday.
(Editing by David Adams and Sharon Bernstein)
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Alabama
woman convicted of running granddaughter to death
