An Alabama woman charged in her granddaughter's running death testified Wednesday that she would 'rather die' than hurt the little girl, and denied making her run as punishment. Joyce Hardin Garrard took the witness stand to say she never intended any harm to 9-year-old Savannah Hardin. When defense attorney Richard Rhea asked if she would have done anything to hurt Savannah or any other grandchildren, Garrard replied, 'I'd rather die first.' The 49-year-old Garrard said she and Savannah had been in the yard picking up sticks and talking, taking frequent breaks to get a drink of water and to play. She said she was telling Savannah the importance of not lying. Took the stand: Joyce Garrard, 49, took the stand in her own defense Wednesday in her trial for allegedly killing her 10-year-old granddaughter Savannah Hardin by forcing her to run as punishment for lying about eating candy . 'I was picking up sticks with her because I felt just as responsible for her lying as she was,' Garrard testified. Prosecutors say Garrard killed the girl three years ago by making her run as punishment for a lie about candy. 'It was 'more like a jog and not a run,' Garrard maintained. Garrard said Savannah was such an active child, the only way to hold her attention was to keep her moving. 'We was hooting and hollering, fussing back and forth,' Garrard said. Garrard said they picked up sticks for about 40 minutes, but spent much of the day in the yard. She said Savannah told her she had to go to the bathroom and they were racing into the house when the girl fell backward. Garrard said that's when she told Savannah's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, to call 911. 'Did you have some intent to hurt Savannah?' Rhea asked. 'Not that day or any other day,' Garrard replied. Victim: Garrad allegedly forced her granddaughter, Savannah Hardin (pictured left and right), 9, to run to her death at her home in Etowah County in 2012 after discovering she had lied about eating forbidden chocolates . Arrests: Garrard (pictured, left, in her police mugshot) was charged in the fatal February 2012 incident alongside Savannah's stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin (right) One word on a 911 recording could help decide Garrard's fate. With 9-year-old Savannah lying unconscious following an afternoon of running and a 911 operator listening over the phone, Joyce Hardin Garrard asked for something — either a cigarette or a blanket. The request, depending on exactly what she said, could be considered callousness or compassion. On the Feb. 17, 2012, recording, played in court Tuesday, Garrard is heard in the background as the girl's stepmother, Jessica Mae Hardin, talked for more than 11 minutes with Lori Beth Beggs, a 911 operator in Etowah County. 'My daughter had a seizure,' Hardin says at the beginning. Speaking in a loud voice as Hardin talks to Beggs, Garrard is heard repeatedly saying the child's name and asking her to wake up. 'Savannah. Savannah,' Garrard says in a steady voice. 'Savannah, open your eyes.' Then, nearly three minutes into the recording, with Savannah still unresponsive, Garrard makes a request. 'Give me a smoke,' Beggs testified the woman said. The defense maintains she said: 'Give me a throw,' referring to a small blanket. While jurors have listened to the recording, Circuit Judge Billy Ogletree refused to let them see a transcript of the audio prepared for the defense. What the jurors believe she said could be vital. If Garrard asked for a cigarette while the girl lay before her dying, jurors could agree with prosecutors that the woman was angry and meant to kill the child by running her for hours. If they believe the woman said 'throw,' jurors could see that as sign Garrard was worried and trying to help the girl. Other testimony showed that the girl was wrapped in a small blanket when firefighters and paramedics arrived. Scene: Gerrard allegedly made her granddaughter carry sticks of wood as she ran to her death at her home (pictured). But defense lawyers are expected to argue that the third-grader's death wasn't Gerrard's fault . Prosecutors were preparing to cross-examine Garrard later Wednesday after she was questioned by her attorney. Garrard faces a death sentence or life without parole if convicted of capital murder. The girl's stepmother is awaiting trial on a murder charge in the girl's death. Authorities said she sat by without intervening while the older woman forced the girl to run until she dropped. A defense expert said in dramatic testimony Tuesday that he wouldn't classify the death of a young girl as a homicide even though her grandmother is accused of running her to death, yet he agreed the child wouldn't have died without exhausting physical exertion. Questioned by an attorney for Garrard at her capital murder trial, forensic pathologist Dr. James Lauridson indicated he couldn't say someone else caused the death of Savannah Hardin, 9. 'Knowing what I know I would not have called this a homicide, I would have called it indeterminate,' said Lauridson, retired chief medical examiner for Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Lauridson also disagreed with autopsy findings that concluded the girl suffered from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Lauridson — using water, dye and a plastic skull to demonstrate sodium deficiency — said the girl was actually over-hydrated and had no signs of heat illness. Mother and daughter: Savannah (pictured with her mother in a Facebook photo) eventually collapsed and started seizing. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she later died from dehydration and low sodium . Jurors paid close attention to Lauridson, standing and craning their necks to follow his testimony. Garrard began crying after he said her granddaughter's death wasn't a homicide. But under cross-examination by prosecutor Marcus Reid, Lauridson admitted he didn't have all the witness statements and police files that were available to Dr. Emily Ward, the state pathologist who ruled that the girl's death was a homicide. Her decision was crucial to the decision to charge Garrard. Neighbors have testified they saw the 49-year-old Boaz woman forcing the girl to keep running even after she was vomiting and begging to stop, and Reid drove home the point to jurors. 'It was running that killed her. Isn't that right?' Reid asked Lauridson. 'Yes,' Lauridson replied. Lauridson's testimony built upon that of former forensic investigator Chris Crow, who helped Ward with the post-mortem investigation of Savannah's death. Crow testified that a report indicated Ward didn't have the girl's medical records before conducting the autopsy. The final autopsy report wasn't completed until weeks after Garrard already had been indicted, he said. Crow said the autopsy took Ward only an hour, which he described as 'pretty quick' for such an examination. But Crow testified under cross-examination that Ward was more experienced than other pathologists in her office, possibly accounting for her speed, and Ward was in a meeting where authorities detailed their evidence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Garrard, who is accused of making the girl run for hours as punishment for a lie about candy on Feb. 17, 2012. Garrard, of Boaz, says she is innocent. Run to death: Savannah (pictured) suffered from unspecified medical issues that resulted in frequent doctors visits, court documents state. Defense attorneys have said it was her medical condition that caused her death .
Joyce Garrard, 49, is charged with killing 10-year-old Savannah Hardin by forcing her to run as punishment for lying about eating candy . Garrard took the witness stand Wednesday to say she never intended any harm to 9-year-old Savannah Hardin . Garrard's lawyers haven't denied that the girl ran before her collapse, but the defense said the woman had no intention of harming her granddaughter .