A woman in the US state of Alabama convicted of forcing her nine-year-old granddaughter to run to death has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors described grandmother Joyce Hardin Garrard, 46, as the "drill sergeant from hell", saying she forced nine-year-old Savannah Hardin to run for hours after school when she became enraged over the child lying about lollies.
Savannah Hardin
Garrard told the court if she could have anything in the world it would be to have Savannah back, reports the Associated Press.
Etowah County Judge Billy Ogletree upheld a jury recommendation of life without parole, rather than death by lethal injection, after Garrard was convicted of capital murder in March.
Husband Johnny Garrard comforted another of the couple's grandchildren as the sentence was read out. Outside court, Mr Garrard defended his wife's innocence.
"It's wrong. It's plain wrong. I know what happened that day, and what they say happened is not what happened. It's all just wrong."
Garrard denied the charges to police, saying she wanted the girl to get faster after she finished second in a race at school. Prosecutors, however, argued Garrard was so furious she made Savannah run until she dropped.
The child collapsed and vomited outside her home in 2012 after an afternoon of running, the court was told. She died several days later in hospital when she was disconnected from life support.
CCTV footage showed Garrard talking with school bus driver Raenna Holmes about the child taking lollies from another student without paying, Garrard saying: "She's going to run until I tell her to stop."
A post-mortem revealed the girl was severely dehydrated, like an athlete who had run a marathon without drinking any water.
A neighbour testified he had seen Savannah running and carrying firewood over a two-hour period.
Garrard will be taken to Julia Tutwiler jail, Alabama's only women's prison, this week.
"Life without parole in the state of Alabama means you come out of Julia Tutwiler prison in a pine box," Etowah County district attorney Jimmie Harp told Judge Ogletree.
"We talk about the death penalty, but life inside Julia Tutwiler prison until the point she ceases to exist is a death sentence to me. It's just a question of when that death occurs."
The girl's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, 27, is charged with murder and awaiting a separate trial.
3 News
source: newshub archive
