commentary by Patrick H. Moore
After burning the candle at both ends from age 18 to 30 and living – shall we say – an irregular lifestyle, when I turned 31, I said to myself, “Get in shape, young man,” and so I started running. For the next five years I ran 3 to 5 days a week, 3 to 5 miles at a time. I ran in the blistering heat and summer and I ran in the cool NorCal rain. I was a running fool.
When you’re running like that and you’re heart is pounding and it’s about 95 degrees and you’re sucking air, you sometimes wonder if you’re hitting it too hard and how the old ticker is holding up.
Well, back in February of 2012, a 9-year-old rural Alabama girl named Savannah Hardin certainly hit it too hard while running for three hours, apparently in her own front yard, because her grandmother, 49-year-old Joyce Garrard Hardin, allegedly demanded that she run and keep on running. The bizarre run till you can run no more punishment was based on the fact that Savannah had stolen some chocolate that she was not supposed to eat due to a health issue.
Etowah County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Natalie Barton told CNN on Thursday:
“It is alleged that the grandmother was out in the yard with Savannah, and she was encouraging her with the words, ‘Move it! Move it! Move it!’ — much like a drill sergeant.”
Barton told HLN’s Nancy Grace (as if that strange lady had to get involved), “That young body simply could not take it. That is child abuse. (Garrard) overstepped (the) line.”
Not so fast says Joyce Hardin’s lawyers, who have filed “filed papers with the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals saying they found numerous problems with the state’s autopsy of 9-year-old Savannah Hardin in 2012”, as part of their attempt to get the capital murder charge Grandma Hardin is facing dismissed.
According to the autopsy report, the child, who was a 3rd grader at Carlisle Elementary School, was extremely dehydrated and had very low sodium levels.
Savannah’s stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, and her grandmother “were both arrested and charged with murder after the death was ruled a homicide by a state pathologist.”
“A petition filed by the defense contends the girl’s autopsy was performed by a doctor who was later fired over allegations that included possible falsification of documents and dereliction of duty. The physician has since failed to testify in other cases and may not be available to testify in Hardin’s trial, the defense argued in the document.”
The defense contends the child died because of long-standing health problems, adding testimony about the girl’s physical condition and the autopsy could be vital at trial. Those lawyers have asked the appeals court to order a circuit judge in Alabama’s Etowah County, William Ogletree, to throw out the charge.”
Although it seems clear that Grandma Hardin did a truly dreadful thing by forcing a child with health problems to run for three hours because she stole some chocolate, the prosecution’s case for a murder conviction would seem to be weakened by the fact that Savannah died in the hospital three days after her marathon run. She apparently did not collapse while running but rather suffered a seizure that evening which led to her being taken to the hospital. The “authorities have said the girl was exhausted to the point of collapsing.”
Thus, although Hardin would clearly seem to be guilty of some kind of aggravated child abuse, based on what has been disclosed, I fail to see sufficient evidence of premeditation or that Grandma was trying to kill Savannah. On the contrary, Grandma was cruelly punishing the child for pissing her off. This is a far cry, however, from trying to kill her.
Some insight into the situation in Grandma’s front yard can possibly be gleaned from witness statements.
Several people had seen the third-grade student at Carlisle Elementary School outside in her yard running, but at first they didn’t suspect anything, said (Natalie) Barton (back in February of 2012).
“In the initial reaction, who thinks that it’s a punishment when you see a 9-year-old out in the front yard running?” the spokeswoman said. “It was a beautiful day here that day, she was probably just simply outside playing.”
Barton went on to say:
“(Neighbors) didn’t start putting two-and-two together until they saw the medics arrive at the house.”
Once again all this does is prove the child was running, and given the length of time she was forced to run and based on her age, it was clearly highly abusive, and could have been a contributing factor to her collapse later that evening. That is not premeditated murder, however.
Although bond was set at $500,000, Hardin has been held in custody since Feb, 22, 2012. She has pleaded not guilty and possibly faces the death penalty if convicted of murder. Her trial is set to begin on Feb. 12, 2015 in Gadsden.
The defense petition to dismiss was filed with the Court of Appeals in Montgomery on Oct. 28, and prosecutors have yet to respond to it. The appeals court released the document Thursday at the request of The Associated Press.
Among other things, the petition argues that Hardin’s trial has been delayed twice despite defense attempts to move the case along, which according to her attorneys, violates the woman’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Hardin’s defense also claims that she is suffering from numerous health problems in the Etowah County jail and should receive bail.
The judge has previously refused to dismiss charges against the grandmother, while the child’s stepmother is free on bond. The stepmother has also been charged with murder under the theory that she failed to intervene while the child was outside running while Grandma Hardin was allegedly cracking the whip.
I wish to note that I am in no way sympathetic to Grandma Hardin or the child’s stepmother. I simply do not see grounds for murder charges here, and it’s entirely possible that the prosecution is beginning to see the light too, which could, at least in part, account for the fact that they seem so intent on stalling.