A hearing was set for the grandmother of a 9-year-old girl in Alabama who died after being forced to run until she collapsed, Fox News reported.
During her court appearance on Friday, Circuit Judge William Ogletree scheduled a hearing for Joyce Hardin Garrard, 48, on Feb. 21 to determine if she should still be charged in the murder of her granddaughter, Savannah Hardin, who died in February 2012.
Ogletree set the hearing in February after defense attorneys requested more time to prepare.
Judge Ogletree also denied bond for Garrard, which her defense attorney, Dani Bone, requested due to health concerns.
"This case is an absolute travesty of justice," Bone said, adding her client is not a danger to the community or herself. "She would be much more effective...in her own defense if she were released."
Garrard has been in prison for almost two years and requested that the charge be dropped. Hardin's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, was also charged for letting the punishment to occur.
Both women maintain their innocence.
According to prosecutors, Garrard forced her granddaughter to run after she lied about eating candy. After running for three hours, she collapsed and died at a hospital three days later.
