GADSDEN, Ala. – A juror's medical problem delayed the trial of an Alabama woman charged in her granddaughter's running death.
Etowah County Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree dismissed court early Monday because a juror had to seek medical attention.
The judge didn't indicate whether the juror would be back as defense testimony resumes Tuesday.
But the panel of 16 jurors includes four alternates. So the trial of 49-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard can continue even if a juror has to be dismissed.
Prosecutors say Garrard forced 9-year-old granddaughter Savannah Hardin to run for hours as punishment for a lie. Evidence shows the child collapsed at her home and died in a hospital three days later in February 2012.
The defense asked the judge to end the trial with an acquittal, but he refused.
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