Grandmother, Stepmom Accused Of Running 9-Year-Old Girl To Death

[Dakota Valkyrie]

I once took too many cookies from the cookie jar despite being told not to. I had my Gameboy taken away for the weekend. Even at my worst,resorting to torture was never part of my parent's displince plans.

Although, I bet at the time you thought lack o' Gameboy was pure torture. ;)

[Ninja0980]

Although, I bet at the time you thought lack o' Gameboy was pure torture. ;)

Indeed it was,especially since I was close to beating the end of Super Mario Land.

[Marv]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ing-candy.html

[...]

Authorities say Savannah's life ended in exhaustion earlier this month when she was forced by her paternal grandmother, Joyce Hardin Gerrard, to run for three hours, while her stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, did nothing to stop it.

The grandmother prodded her along cruelly, and the stepmother didn't intervene until Savannah collapsed in an unconscious heap, investigators say.
[...]

Jessica Mae Hardin's attorneys, Morgan Cunningham and Vince Pentecost, said in a statement Friday that Hardin was 'incredibly devastated over Savannah's death' and they would prove her innocence.

'Unfortunately, whenever a child passes away, our society wants to place blame, our media wants to sensationalize and our elected officials want to make grandiose statements that are not based in fact,' they said.

A defence lawyer representing the grandmother said she will be cleared of any crime.
'Even then, Joyce Garrard and her family will continue to grieve over the loss of their beloved Savannah,' Dani Bone said.
[...]

Sometime during the afternoon of February 17, Joyce Hardin Gerrard allegedly forced Savannah to begin running in the yard outside their trailer. Barton said the grandmother was running the little girl 'like a drill sergeant,' pushing her to keep running by saying things like 'Move it, move it, move it! Go, go, go!'

Barton said there is some evidence that the girl also was picking up sticks and other items in the yard and placing them in a burn pile. A large pile of unburned sticks and other items could be seen Friday behind the family's mobile home.

The stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, didn't intervene and call 911 until after the girl collapsed about three hours into her ordeal, Barton said. Savannah was taken to an area hospital and then later transferred to a hospital in Birmingham, where she was put on life support. Her father made the decision to disconnect her, and she died Monday.

So granny was out there with her, prodding her along to exercise for the 3 hours. She wasn't out there alone, running around until she died. Someone was there, watching, pushing. Dear ol' granny.

And it was her paternal granny. It hadn't clicked with me, not even with the name Hardin Gerrard. I thought it was the step-mother's mother. The fact that she had an actual genetic link to the child somehow makes it worse. Savannah was her actual blood grandchild, and her son had trusted his mother to look after his child while he was out of the country.

Fuck those bitches.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The murder charge against Joyce Garrard has been officially upgraded to capital murder, Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp said in a statement released Thursday.

"A capital murder warrant was served today on Joyce Garrard, 46, of Attalla, in connection with the death of her granddaughter Savannah Hardin," Harp said.

A charge of capital murder carries the possibility of either life imprisonment or the death penalty.

http://www.wtvm.com/story/17058320/g...capital-murder

A woman accused of running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death as punishment for eating chocolate was captured on a school bus videotape saying she planned to run the child ''til she can't run no more,' a prosecutor told a judge Thursday in announcing capital murder charges.

Joyce Hardin Garrard, who faces a potential death penalty if convicted, made the threat as she yanked Savannah Hardin off a school bus that was equipped with a surveillance system, said Marcus Reid, an assistant district attorney in Etowah County.

Angered by a supposed lie the child told, Garrard told the driver: '"I gonna run her `til she can't run no more,"' Reid said.

'That's exactly what she did,' said the prosecutor, calling Garrard a 'drill sergeant from hell.'
[...]

Reid said after taking the child off the bus, Garrard forced Savannah to run and carry firewood until she collapsed in exhaustion in her yard. Autopsy photos show marks on the girl's arms from where the logs dug into her skin, Reid said, and a debris pile of limbs and large logs was visible outside the house the day after charges were filed against the women.

The child's father, Robert Hardin, sat behind the defense table during the hearing in apparent support of Garrard, his mother, and Hardin, his wife. Other relatives and friends sat around him, occasionally mouthing words to the two women.
[...]

When Reid called Garrard the 'drill sergeant from hell' and pointed at her, Garrard's lawyer Dani Bone, who jumped up between Reid and Garrard, crossed his arms and yelled at Reid to quit pointing at the woman.

'That's inappropriate!' Bone said.

While Reid said Hardin spent time on her laptop and talking on a cellphone while her stepdaughter was forced to run, defense lawyers said the younger woman was busy caring for her 3-year-old son and didn't know what was happening.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...h-penalty.html

[Chinchillazilla]

she planned to run the child ''til she can't run no more,'

She got what she wanted. Hope she's really happy.

[Tundratot]

Apparently the whole family is behind their actions. It sounds like the bus driver ratted the girl out to her grandmother, too. I wonder if we're going to hear from her friends and teachers.

[Marv]

Joyce doesn't exactly look like a kind and loving granny in that photo. Imagine that wild, crazy-eyed glare on her face as she screamed at that 9yr old child to ''keep running!''. No wonder the child was too scared to stop for a rest and just kept running 'till she could ''run no more''. She looks like she is wishing Savannah was still alive so she could kill her for getting her in this predicament.

Jessica looks like a pouty teen who is sulking because she is grounded.

And if Robert Hardin is supporting his wife and mother, then he is a first class prick. ONE KILLED YOUR DAUGHTER, AND THE OTHER ONE LET IT HAPPEN. So, fuck you too, Robert.

[Jerri Blank]

2 women plead not guilty in girl's running death

Two women have pleaded not guilty in the death of a 9-year-old Alabama girl who authorities say was run to death as punishment for lying.


Wednesday's arraignment of the girl's 46-year-old grandmother Joyce Hardin Garrard and 27-year-old stepmother Jessica Mae Hardin took place in Etowah County Circuit Judge William Ogletree's courtroom.


Authorities say Savannah Hardin collapsed and later died after being forced to run and haul debris for three hours as punishment for a lie about candy. Attorneys for both women say they are innocent and predict they'll be vindicated. [...]

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/21/435...-in-girls.html

[Tundratot]

Not surprised at all about the not guilty plea. But . . vindicated?!!! Seriously?!! Amazing.

[Shadow]

2 women plead not guilty in girl's running death

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/21/435...-in-girls.html

Please Jury,
Find these two bitches guilty and hang them! This is the only justice for this dear lil' girl! Think about this, what if it were YOUR daughter? Wouldn't you want justice for her?


~shadow

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Not surprised at all about the not guilty plea. But . . vindicated?!!! Seriously?!! Amazing.

She's already been "vindicated" by my reckoning.

A woman accused of running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death as punishment for eating chocolate was captured on a school bus videotape saying she planned to run the child ''til she can't run no more,'

She has been shown to be right on that one... Savannah won't be running no more.

[Tundratot]

No way was she right to run that girl for three hours, or to death. If she thinks that running the girl for three hours was a reasonable and non-threatening punishment, she will not be vindicated. However, if she at any time stated (to her son or her dil) that she would kill that child, then she might be.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A flurry of Facebook posts about the Alabama grandmother and stepmother charged with running a 9-year-old girl to death as punishment could potentially put the case in jeopardy.

A judge has warned prosecutors and defence attorneys not to discuss the murder case, and so far they have obeyed. But experts say the hundreds of posts that appeared on Facebook since Savannah Hardin's death in February highlight the challenge of making sure witnesses and jurors are not tainted.

While most posts are fairly innocuous, some address how the child died, which could be considered evidence.
[...]

Both women remain in Etowah County's jail without access to computers. But as in other high-profile court cases, Facebook pages dedicated to the case appeared soon after Savannah's death, with some honoring the girl's memory or denouncing her caretakers, while others supporting the two women.

Many of the posts simply express sympathy for one side or the other, but some go further. In a post last month, a person posting as Johnny Garrard disagreed with a claim about what killed the child, concluding: 'I have the Death Certificate and that is not what it says.'

A few other Facebook users suggest they have knowledge about the case that has not been made public in court. In one post, a person who claims to have known Jessica Hardin for two decades says Savannah ran herself to exhaustion by trying to finish chores too quickly.

Court files do not indicate whether Judge William Ogletree, who is presiding over the case, is aware of the way the it is playing out online.

Although he publicly admonished lawyers during a hearing in March to avoid making comments on the case, it did little to slow down the Internet chatter.

Law professors agree that it is unlikely a judge could prevent people from posting information on Facebook, where jurors, witnesses, lawyers and even judges could 'friend' each other or see the latest gossip on ongoing cases.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml