I'm even all for spankings still, but even that will get you arrested these days. At what point does it go from discipline into abuse? At what point does it go from private family business to an issue where the state/police should intervene? I'm asking after reading the following article, where a 9 year old girl was forced to run for 3 hours. She was severely dehydrated, and had a seizure and died a few days later. This, IMO, is without a doubt wrong and abusive. But also, I think if they had her do some sort of physical activity, within reason, that would have been fine. But obviously they pushed the envelope. For example, when I played football, if we screwed up we were forced to run laps with all the equipment on. This is a good motivational tool for athletes. There's an obvious difference between a few laps and 3 straight hours, no fluids and fluids, and a 9 year old guy and an equivalent aged child in sports.

I point out the differences to show how some would be seen as normal and now this example being what they are calling murder.

2 charged in death of Ala girl forced to run

ATTALLA, Ala. (AP) — Roger Simpson said he looked down the road and saw a little girl running outside her home but didn't give it another thought. Police, however, said the man witnessed a murder in progress.

Authorities say 9-year-old Savannah Hardin died after being forced to run for three hours as punishment for having lied to her grandmother about eating candy bars. Severely dehydrated, the girl had a seizure and died days later. Now, her grandmother and stepmother who police say meted out the punishment were taken to jail Wednesday and face murder charges.

Witnesses told deputies Savannah was told to run and not allowed to stop for three hours on Friday, an Etowah County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said. The girl's stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, called police at 6:45 p.m., telling them Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.

Simpson said he saw a little girl running at around 4 p.m., but didn't see anybody chasing or coercing her.

"I saw her running down there, that's what I told the detectives," Simpson said from his home on a hill overlooking the Hardins. "But I don't see how that would kill her."

Authorities are still trying to determine whether Savannah was forced to run by physical coercion or by verbal commands. Deputies were told the girl was made to run after lying to her grandmother, 46-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard, about having eaten the candy, sheriff's office spokeswoman Natalie Barton said.
http://news.yahoo.com/2-charged-deat...082216169.html