Alabama woman set for trial in granddaughter's running death

GADSDEN, Ala. -- A prosecutor calls Joyce Hardin Garrard the "drill sergeant from hell," a woman so mean she made her 9-year-old granddaughter run until the girl collapsed and died, all as punishment for lying about candy.

In court, the 59-year-old year old woman looks like a typical grandmother ,aside from a jail uniform and shackles. Her attorneys argue her granddaughter died because of other medical problems, not anything Garrard did.

Jurors will begin sorting out the differing images and medical conclusions this week as Garrard goes on trial in the death three years ago of Savannah Hardin, a blond-haired girl known for her big smile and love of reading.

If convicted of capital murder, Garrard could join only a handful of other women on Alabama's death row. Garrard's trial follows repeated delays and years of legal maneuvering by prosecutors and the defense, much of it conducted without public comment because of a gag order imposed on attorneys, witnesses and others by Etowah County Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree.

Preliminary jury questioning concluded last week, and final jury selection is expected this week. Opening statements will follow.

The child's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, is charged with murder and awaiting a separate trial for allegedly sitting by as Garrard made the child run for hours. No one is saying whether Hardin will testify, but prosecutors have subpoenaed her as a potential witness.

The state also issued a subpoena for Robert Hardin, Savannah's father and the son of Joyce Garrard, and Garrard's husband Johnny Garrard.

Robert Hardin filed a malpractice suit last year blaming his daughter's death on mistakes at Gadsden Regional Medical Center, where the girl was rushed immediately after collapsing outside the family home on a big, wooded lot in rural Etowah County.

Claims made in Hardin's lawsuit -- that medical workers failed to treat the girl properly for low sodium levels after her collapse -- are similar to defense arguments from pretrial hearings. But jurors may never hear any of it: The judge is considering a state request that would limit medical testimony and could hamper the defense's case.

Much of the case will center on what happened Feb. 17, 2012, the day the child fell ill. Authorities say medics responding to a 911 call found Savannah having seizures at the family's mobile home. Her father, who was overseas working as a State Department contractor at the time, rushed home and made the decision to remove the girl from life support three days later after she had been transferred to Children's of Alabama in Birmingham.

Investigators said an autopsy revealed the girl was severely dehydrated and had extremely low sodium levels. They compared her condition to that of an athlete who ran a marathon without drinking any water, although the defense has challenged the autopsy findings.