Girl, 9, dies after being forced to run for three hours as punishment

By +Frank B.
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Grand Master

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Girl, 9, dies after being forced to run for three hours as punishment

Grandmother and stepmother in Alabama face murder charges after girl was forced to run for lying about eating sweets

Roger Simpson said he saw a little girl running outside her home but didn't give it a second thought. Police said he witnessed a murder in progress.

Authorities said nine-year-old Savannah Hardin died after being forced to run for three hours as punishment for lying to her grandmother, 46-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard, about eating sweets. Severely dehydrated, the girl had a seizure and died days later. Now, her grandmother and stepmother face murder charges.

Witnesses told deputies Savannah was told to run and not allowed to stop for three hours, according to a spokeswoman at Etowah County Sheriff's Office in Alabama. The girl's stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, called police that evening, telling them Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.

Simpson said he saw the girl running but didn't see anybody chasing or coercing her.

"I saw her running down there, that's what I told the detectives," Simpson said. "But I don't see how that would kill her."

Savannah died on Monday, according to the sheriff's office. An autopsy report showed the girl was extremely dehydrated and had a very low sodium level. A state pathologist ruled it a homicide.

Garrard and Jessica Mae Hardin are being held on a $500,000 cash bond for each.

School superintendent Alan Cosby said Savannah's desk had been turned into a makeshift memorial where her classmates could leave notes and mementos.

"This is obviously a very tragic, devastating, heartbreaking situation," Cosby said. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Source: The Guardian

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Grand Master

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that is an awful form of punishment. You think she would have just stopped running if she was not being forced to do it unless there were unknown sources of fear from her grandparents.

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Grand Master

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Surely something was already wrong with her if 3 hours of running killed her, a healthy 9yr old would be fine imo

Normal body reaction should be pass out from exhaustion not die surely

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Ently

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Surely something was already wrong with her if 3 hours of running killed her, a healthy 9yr old would be fine imo

Normal body reaction should be pass out from exhaustion not die surely

I thought the same thing too at first but I mean plenty of children play outside usually after eating/drinking something and they have breaks. I don't know any children that can run for three hours straight... hell I know I couldn't and i'm almost 23. I could exercise for at least three hours yeah but running for that long straight? hell no!

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Grand Master

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I thought the same thing too at first but I mean plenty of children play outside usually after eating/drinking something and they have breaks. I don't know any children that can run for three hours straight... hell I know I couldn't and i'm almost 23. I could exercise for at least three hours yeah but running for that long straight? hell no!

Yea but I don't think it should have killed her, she might have needed a day in hospital or bed to recover, but she must have been severely dehydrated and malnourished for it to actually kill her.

Probably was denied water and food from the idiots too

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Grand Master

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Yea but I don't think it should have killed her, she might have needed a day in hospital or bed to recover, but she must have been severely dehydrated and malnourished for it to actually kill her.

Probably was denied water and food from the idiots too

It said she had very low sodium, aka electrolytes--that's highly dangerous and can lead to seizures and death, just as it did for this poor girl.

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Original Poster

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stupid of them yes and a bit over the top but murder? why just because an accident happens must everyone be charged with murder? man slaughter and child abuse at most ... but murder is only if the intention was to kill....

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Tomoko

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Only in America (as usual).

Except for all the countries where children are treated worse than animals or as slaves. Bad parenting and neglect isn't unique to any country, it happens all over the world. I wish people would stop and think before posting something stupid.

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Rippleman

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when my all my kids are grown to 18+ (currently 17, 14,11) and i have paid for their entire collage costs, I would love to be starting a team of professionals (like minded fed-up people) and will be taking care of people like this for good. No courts, lawyers, no sentencing, just plain justice. some day! SOME DAY!

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srbeen

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I completely agree, as a parent you are looking out for the protection and safety of your child. Telling them to run 1.5 hours away and back in the heat is inhumane despite how many oreos or twinkies she ate. the parents were NOT looking out for the childs well-being. They were neglectful (not following her while running), didn't provide the basics for life (water/gatorade, hat, light clothes, proper shoes, etc) and ignorant to not notice her dehydration level. They should be charged with murder, lose the rest/any other kids or pets they have in their care and be legally binded to never be in custody of anyone under the age of 16!

Now mind you the child obviously wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box if they were no where in sight and she continued to run, but it could be a case of 'this time I got off easy' - we have NO idea what other punishments she got as a result of being honest with her guardians.

They should make the two of them run until they collapse and die from exhaustion!

yea, throw them in a room that only a treadmill can fit and set it on 9. leave it go for 3 hours.. see how they fair.

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MidnightDevil

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Surely something was already wrong with her if 3 hours of running killed her, a healthy 9yr old would be fine imo

Normal body reaction should be pass out from exhaustion not die surely

Agreed.

Even though the parents deserve it, I'm guessing something was already wrong with her.

Dehydration takes more than a few days to kill. It's needed a better accuracy at the timeline so they can know what really happened.

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LaP

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The kids these days.

Is there a difference in sentence years for voluntary and involuntary manslaughter?

I would call this voluntarty unless the 2 women are stupid beyond what is humanly possible.

Everyone know that running for 3 hours without drinking is extremely dangerous.

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