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| Joyce Hardin Garrard |
It was an emotional day
in the capital murder trial Wednesday of an Etowah County woman accused
of running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death, with the defense accusing the
state of withholding key evidence and a prosecutor cursing angrily in front of
jurors.
Etowah County Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree refused a defense
request to end the trial of Joyce Hardin Garrard in a mistrial, but prosecutors
withdrew a medical witness who was on the stand when the flare-up occurred.
The judge then immediately gave jurors a two-hour lunch
break.
Prosecutors allege Garrard killed 9-year-old Savannah Hardin
by making her run and carry wood for hours as punishment for a lie about candy.
The defense hasn't denied that the girl ran outside her But
Garrard's lawyers deny that the woman had any intention of harming the girl.
The tone of the trial changed when medical scribe Renee
Jones took the stand for the state.
Defense attorney Dani Bone complained that prosecutors were
now claiming that hospital records showing the child was "alert and
oriented" after an ambulance ride were incorrect.
It was a potentially big point for Garrard: Evidence that
showed the girl recovered for a time before slipping back into unconsciousness
and dying could help her defense, which previously argued that medical problems
aside from exertion might have contributed to her death.
The prosecution withdrew the witness saying that they may
recall her later.
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