Grandmother who made 9-year-old girl run for 3- hours until she collapsed and died is found guilty of her murder and now faces the death penalty 

GADSDEN, Alabama — Jurors who convicted an Alabama woman in the running death of her 9-year-old granddaughter soon must decide whether to recommend she should die for the crime or spend the rest of her life in prison. A jury convicted 49-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard late Friday in the February 2012 death of Savannah Hardin, siding with prosecutors who depicted Garrard as a “drill sergeant from hell,” a domineering taskmaster so enraged over a lie about candy that she made the girl run until she dropped. The sentencing phase — a mini-trial within the trial — is to begin Monday, the judge said. The jury will hear additional testimony and make a decision on whether to recommend life without parole or death for Garrard, but the final decision is up to Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree under Alabama law. READ MORE HERE