AN ALABAMA WOMAN was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole yesterday after forcing her nine-year-old granddaughter to run for hours until she collapsed and died.

CBS news reports nine-year-old Savannah Hardin collapsed and vomited outside her home in 2012 after an afternoon of running and carrying sticks. The little girl died a number of days later in hospital.

A witness testified he saw Savannah running and carrying firewood over a two-hour period. He said he heard the girl’s grandmother, Joyce Hardin Garrad, yelling at her to keep running.

CCTV footage from a school bus showed the 50-year-old grandmother telling the driver that she was going to make the girl “run until I tell her to stop” because she had taken candy from a school student who was selling it without paying.

However Garrad claims the girl wanted to learn to run faster after finishing second in a school race. She has denied intending to hurt the child and was supported by a number of family members throughout the trial.

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