GADSDEN, Alabama – An Alabama jury convicted Joyce Hardin Garrard of capital murder in the running death of her 9-year-old granddaughter on Friday, rejecting claims that she didn’t mean to harm the girl while she was punishing the child for a lie.
Authorities claimed the 49-year-old woman forced Savannah to run and carry wood for hours as punishment for a lie about candy. Savannah eventually had a seizure and died three days later in a hospital.
Relatives sitting behind her began to cry loudly. Defense attorney Dani Bone laid his head on the table in front of him after the verdict, delivered after about 3½ hours of deliberation. Garrard’s husband Johnny sat behind her, hugging a crying daughter before the woman ran from the courtroom sobbing.
The judge said the sentencing phase — a mini-trial within the trial — will begin Monday. Jurors will hear additional testimony and make a decision on whether to recommend life without parole or death, but the final decision is up to the judge under Alabama law. More
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