GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) - A judge in Gadsden has reduced the bond for a woman charged with murder in the running death of her 9-year-old stepdaughter.
Etowah County Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree reduced the bond for Jessica Hardin from $500,000 to $150,000. The judge said the original bond was excessive and $150,000 was in line with other non-capital cases. The Gadsden Times reports that if Hardin makes bond, she must remain at her residence unless she receives permission from a community corrections officer to leave.
Savannah Hardin collapsed and later died after being made to run for about three hours as punishment for telling a lie. The girl's grandmother, Joyce Hardin Garrard, is accused of forcing her to run. She is charged with capital murder, and she is jailed without bond.
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