GUILTY AL - Savannah Hardin, 9, forced to run til she died, Etowah Co., 17 Feb 2012

[Shelby1]

Hmmmm.....I wonder what the dad didn't want Joyce and Jessica to know?

Bet that doctor wishes she had acted and reported them. Might have saved Savannah's life

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I'll bet she does too, Shelby. It really gets me hot under the collar when children are failed by the adults in their lives.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 52m52 minutes ago

Defense has been questioning their expert pathology witness, who used to be states chief pathologist

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 51m51 minutes ago

He says he thinks Savannah Hardin died of too much fluid causing low sodium, not dehydration.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 52m52 minutes ago

I would have classified this death as undetermined, he said.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 51m51 minutes ago

He said if she had not exercised, her death would not have happened.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 51m51 minutes ago

His testimony was the longest of any defense witness, and he did a demonstration for the jury on his theory.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 50m50 minutes ago

Before that, defense called Judy Hamrick, a hospital administrator who testified about how medical records are corrected.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 50m50 minutes ago

Defense tried to get testimony examining Savannah's medical records, but state objected.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 49m49 minutes ago

The pathologist expert is James Raymond Lauridson. I had to check the spelling.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 48m48 minutes ago

Back into court.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 14m14 minutes ago

Another break. State just finished questioning Lauridson about his statements.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 13m13 minutes ago

He repeated that Savannah Hardin would not have died if she had t been running.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 12m12 minutes ago

He said he disagreed with pathology that said it was because of dehydration and heat exhaustion.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 11m11 minutes ago

He did not know how much water Savannah would had to consume for her to be over hydrates

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 11m11 minutes ago

But state pointed to statement made by Joyce Garrard at Children's of Alabama that Savannah had drank 3 bottles of water.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 10m10 minutes ago

They say that contradicts statement that Garrard supposedly made that Savannah didn't drink enough water.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 9m9 minutes ago

Note - on the bus video, Garrard is heard to say that Savannah will be fine if Garrard can "get 4 more bottles of water in her" ...

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 9m9 minutes ago

...if memory serves. Back to court.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 9m9 minutes ago

One last time - he said he would have listed Savannah's death as undetermined, not a homicide.

 

[Shelby1]

Sheesh, how much $$$$ did they pay this pathologist *eyeroll*

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Whether Savannah had too much water or was dehydrated from lack of water, JG is the one who appears to be 'large and in charge' of Savannah that day from testimony. So what is the defense trying to prove with this pathlogist? Exactly how would he classify Savannah's death? ' Undetermined' is unacceptable.

 

[tlcya]

thank you very much to Shelby for updating with the tweets from trial.

 

[Shelby1]

Nothing new yet. He might post later tonight.....I'll check back. If it's too late I'll post first thing in the morning I gotta go finish making St. Paddy's day dinner

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 32m32 minutes ago

Prosecution successfully limited this testimony, basically boiling down to the fact that medical records are not always corrected.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 31m31 minutes ago

The problem was that Defense Attorney Richard Rhea spent about 20 minutes trying to establish she was an expert in her field.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 32m32 minutes ago

It would have gone on longer if the prosecution hadn't objected to its relevance. I saw several jurors laboring mightily to stay awake.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 31m31 minutes ago

It was hard to figure out exactly what they were trying to accomplish with this, unless they had pinned hopes again of getting testimony..

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 31m31 minutes ago

...out there about bad record keeping at GRMC, which I guess means misdiagnosis and bad treatment, according to their theory.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

The opposite was true when Dr. Lauridson testified. He was a very compelling expert witness. He basically demonstrated how sodium level...

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 31m31 minutes ago

...can be diluted by overhydration. it was colorful and engaging, and dovetailed with the defense theory of overhydration.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

The question is how effective it was in the defense strategy, since he still testified that overexertion was the reason Savannah died.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

In fact, he said that he was unaware of any case where a patient with a low sodium level had a seizure and lived. That's ANY case.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

Again, Savannah's brain had swelled so badly that it began to push the brain stem out of the bottom of the skull.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

Lauridson contended that was a symptom of overhydration, not dehydration. That the opposite would happen. The brain would resemble a prune

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

I had a question though - based on Dr. Ward's testimony. She said that the body did have a lot of fluid in it. Her explanation made sense.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

Savannah Hardin was on a ventilator for two days. That allowed fluid buildup, and the fluid seen in her was during the autopsy.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 29m29 minutes ago

Not at the hospital. So my question is whether the fluid he's talking about was a hospital phenomenon, and not there at the house.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 29m29 minutes ago

Ward's explanation for the dehydration diagnosis was that if it had been overhydration, it would have shown up in fatty tissues, I believe.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 28m28 minutes ago

Still, Lauridson was a very credible witness, and held attention well. At least he did for me.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 28m28 minutes ago

He stated he was not paid for his testimony, as Garrard is "indigent" he said. He said he was fascinated by the case and its circumstances.

--------------------
I stand corrected. I guess he wasn't paid---Shelby's comment
---------------------

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 28m28 minutes ago

He's also worked with the prosecution team many times. Marcus Reid wanted it known that they met with him months before to "make sure."

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 27m27 minutes ago

I think they were probably feeling him out for what he might say.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 27m27 minutes ago

Before him, probably best defense witness was Donna Johnson, Savannah's principal. As stated, she is Defense Attorney Dani Bone's sister.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 26m26 minutes ago

She said some nice things about Joyce Garrard that gave the impression of a woman who cared about the child.
0 retweets0 favoritesReply
Retweet
Favorite

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 26m26 minutes ago

Prosecution undercut this by asking Johnson if she knew of any times that Robert Hardin said Joyce shouldn't have any contact with Savannah.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 26m26 minutes ago

They also said there were times when Robert Hardin tried to curb access for Jessica Hardin to Savannah. But they were estranged at time.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 26m26 minutes ago

At least, that's what I think was probably the case.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 25m25 minutes ago

Prosecution also got Johnson to admit that she told them Joyce had told her two different stories about how Savannah had a seizure.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 25m25 minutes ago

But her testimony about meeting the family at the hospital in Birmingham was, you might say, moving

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 25m25 minutes ago

Richard Rhea made sure to get it in that the Johnsons had prayer with the Garrards.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 24m24 minutes ago

And then the prosecution asked Johnson about questions her husband, Joyce's pharmacist, had with her story.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 24m24 minutes ago

One other thing - defense had another witness who drove by ( who was not, as far as I know, a Garrard relative) testifying that Savannah...

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 24m24 minutes ago

...wasn't running. But she did say she saw her picking up sticks.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 24m24 minutes ago

Pediatrician testified that Savannah took Vyvanse and Strattera for ADHD. Several people had asked.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 23m23 minutes ago

Court starts earlier tomorrow. There's a chance defense may wrap. Ogletree was overheard talking about charging the jury.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 23m23 minutes ago

Court begins at 8:15. Could be a big day.
0 retweets0 favoritesReply
Retweet
Favorite

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 7m7 minutes ago

Oh one other thing. This is the disclaimer. These are my observations in the courtroom. I can't speak for anybody else. No idea about jury.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 7m7 minutes ago

As everybody mentions, this is a capital case, and very unusual one. The question is going to eventually be - how much does Joyce Garrard...

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 6m6 minutes ago

...bear responsibility for what happened? if Savannah died of too much water or not enough, does Garrard deserve jail? execution? acquittal?

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 5m5 minutes ago

Reporters were weighing how good the pathologist today was the for the defense. Good, but we wondered if that was enough.
0 retweets0 favoritesReply
Retweet
Favorite







WilliamThornton @billineastala · 5m5 minutes ago

I think defense really, really wanted those questions about the medical records to get more attention, and they didn't.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 4m4 minutes ago

Again, that's just my opinion. Defense doesn't have to shoot everything down...just shoot enough of it down to influence jury's decision.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 4m4 minutes ago

And I can see a little of what the pathologist called confirmation bias. Example, while he was speaking, I saw a man nodding his head.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 3m3 minutes ago

The man was sitting next to me. I assumed he was agreeing strongly with the testimony. Every few minutes, I looked over, and he was nodding.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 3m3 minutes ago

I thought, this guy is really into the testimony. He must be one of the Garrard family. Looked over again, and he was nodding his head.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 3m3 minutes ago

This defined how I thought of the guy, until I looked over when nobody was talking and realized this was a condition the guy had.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 3m3 minutes ago

He just nodded his head most of the time. I really have no idea how he felt about the testimony.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 3m3 minutes ago

And it's true in any case - if you believe that Joyce Garrard responsible for the death of Savannah Hardin, then it colors how you see her.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 2m2 minutes ago

Everytime I write a story about her, most of the comments deal with the expression on her face, how her hair looks, her weight, etc.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 2m2 minutes ago

Put a smile on her, or child with her, and she might just look like any other grandma. Put cuffs on her, and tell the story in court, then..

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 2m2 minutes ago

I also see this in how people deal with reporters. I met people everyday who, when they hear I'm a reporter, make instant assumptions...

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 2m2 minutes ago

...about my politics, my education, income, where I came from, etc. Politics especially. It's even happened in my extended family.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 1m1 minute ago

But I will say, with respect to confirmation bias, I think it's an unavoidable part of life. True objectivity is frankly unattainable.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 58s59 seconds ago

That's just my opinion. And I'm biased.
0 retweets0 favoritesReply
Retweet
Favorite

 

[Shelby1]

Happy Hump Day! I hope ya'll don't have a headache from the green beer I don't, but I still think a bloody mary sounds good
WilliamThornton @billineastala · 30m30 minutes ago

Back for early court this morning. Could be a big day.

 

[Shelby1]

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 3m3 minutes ago

Court has been in recess for about 30 mins. After five mins in court, Joyce Garrard and her lawyers went into Ogletree's office with state.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 2m2 minutes ago

Make of that what you will.

WilliamThornton @billineastala · 7m7 minutes ago

There had been some talk earlier about a big defense witness.

 

[tlcya]

a bloody mary ALWAYS sounds good