Hearing delayed for woman convicted in granddaughter's death

Found guilty of Capital Murder, Joyce Hardin Garrard is led back to the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Ala. on Friday, March 20, 2015.
Found guilty of Capital Murder, Joyce Hardin Garrard is led back to the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Ala. on Friday, March 20, 2015.

GADSDEN, Ala. -- A judge is delaying a hearing for a woman challenging her capital murder conviction in the running death of her 9-year-old granddaughter.

An Etowah County judge says he will consider Joyce Garrard's request for a new trial on Oct. 5.

A hearing in the case had been scheduled for Friday but is being delayed on a joint request from prosecutors and Garrard's new defense lawyers.

Garrard is serving life without parole after being convicted of capital murder in the death of granddaughter Savannah Hardin in 2012.

Jurors sided with prosecutors who claim the woman made the child run for hours as punishment for a lie about candy.

Garrard's attorneys argue the trial was tainted by multiple errors and are asking a judge to throw out the conviction.

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