Charges stand in running death
GADSDEN, Ala. – A judge refused Friday to dismiss a capital murder charge against an Alabama woman accused in the death of her 9-year-old granddaughter, who prosecutors say was run to death as punishment for a lie.
An Etowah County judge also refused again to set bond for Joyce Garrard, who has been jailed about two years awaiting trial.
Garrard, 48, is accused of forcing Savannah Hardin two years ago to run around her yard for three hours as punishment for a fib about eating candy.
The girl collapsed and later died.
The child’s father, Robert Hardin, filed a malpractice suit this week against Gadsden Regional Medical Center over its treatment of the girl.