GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — The attorney for a Gwinnett County mother charged in the hot car death of her 1-year-old son is asking for her charges to be reduced from second-degree murder to felony involuntary manslaughter.
Deja Coleman, 29, remains jailed without bond following the death of her son, Daniel Coleman.
Attorney Tom Ford says Coleman was a single mother of three who worked 12-hour shifts as a certified nursing assistant at Northside Gwinnett Hospital. He says she was clinically sleep-deprived after getting only a couple of hours of sleep the night before the incident and caring for her three children.
“It’s understood that you can’t make informed decisions, the prefrontal cortex of your mind goes to autopilot,” Ford said.
Ford says Coleman forgot her 1-year-old son in the back seat after taking her other two children to daycare, calling the incident a tragic mistake.
“A criminal act that she was tired, and not because she was out clubbing, not because she was getting her nails done, not because she was where she shouldn’t be, but because she’s taking care of three children all by herself,” Ford said.
Ford says Coleman should face a lesser charge.
“What are we benefiting by indicting and convicting a grieving mother,” Ford said.
He also says this case differs from the 2016 case involving Justin Ross Harris.
“Of the 35 to 40 hot infant car deaths we have across the country, I would submit a vast majority of them have a defense that doesn’t look like Mr. Harris,” Ford said.
Ford is also calling for lawmakers to pass what he calls the “Zero Hot Car Infant Deaths Act,” which would require technology inside vehicles, including scanners and cameras capable of detecting children.
“Three small children in your care, you know how challenging it is, and the little baby Daniel, was teething, he simply wasn’t sleeping,” Ford said.
Ford is scheduled to speak at the Gwinnett County Courthouse on Tuesday ahead of Coleman’s next court hearing, which is set for Aug. 11.
WSB’s Mary Ryan Howarth contributed to this story.
