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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Smith’s legal future remains unresolved. The state has appealed the order that overturned his conviction, and a timeline for that appeal has not been established. His defense estimates the appellate process could take as long as a year. A potential retrial will remain on hold while the Georgia appellate courts consider the state’s challenge. "
STORY: "‘I’m Glad to Be Free’: Black Georgia Father Released After 24 Years Behind Bars for Infant Son’s Death as State Appeals His Overturned Conviction," by Reporter Mary Spiller, published by The Atlanta Black Star, on September 9, 2026. "Mary Spiller is a Detroit, Michigan native and journalist with five years of experience covering celebrity news, crime, and politics. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, she earned a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in Legal Studies and Writing. Mary began her journalism career through activism, using storytelling as a way to keep communities informed and amplify important issues. Her work has appeared in Black Enterprise, MadameNoire, Sis2Sis, and News Onyx. For Atlanta Black Star, Mary currently covers entertainment, crime, and news."
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STORY: "‘I’m Glad to Be Free’: Black Georgia Father Released After 24 Years Behind Bars for Infant Son’s Death as State Appeals His Overturned Conviction," by Reporter Mary Spiller, published by The Atlanta Black Star, on September 9, 2026. "Mary Spiller is a Detroit, Michigan native and journalist with five years of experience covering celebrity news, crime, and politics. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, she earned a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in Legal Studies and Writing. Mary began her journalism career through activism, using storytelling as a way to keep communities informed and amplify important issues. Her work has appeared in Black Enterprise, MadameNoire, Sis2Sis, and News Onyx. For Atlanta Black Star, Mary currently covers entertainment, crime, and news."
GIST: "A Georgia man who spent 24 years behind bars for his infant son’s death walked out of prison after a judge granted him bond as he awaits a new trial.
A Gwinnett County Superior Court judge granted 51-year-old Danyel Smith a $100,000 bond following the court’s July decision to vacate his 2003 murder conviction and life sentence.
Smith will remain under strict house arrest in Clayton County with his longtime partner, LaTasha Pyatt, while the state challenges the ruling.
Smith must wear a GPS ankle monitor and can only leave his residence for medical emergencies or meetings with his attorneys. The district attorney’s office will receive a report of any technical violation of the monitoring requirements.
The judge also imposed a no-contact order prohibiting Smith from communicating directly or indirectly with Marsha Brandon, the mother of his deceased son, Chandler, or members of her immediate family.
Smith’s release marked the latest development in a case that has remained in Georgia’s courts for more than two decades. His conviction centered on what prosecutors originally described as “shaken baby syndrome,” according to FOX 5, a diagnosis that played a significant role in the case against him.
State prosecutors opposed Smith’s release, citing his 1999 misdemeanor record, questions surrounding statements he made in 2002 and the possibility that a defendant facing homicide charges could flee.
His attorneys, including lawyers with the Southern Center for Human Rights, argued that Smith has strong family and community ties, no felony convictions and an otherwise clean institutional record during his 24 years in prison.
“He’s 51 years old. He has two adult sons, and he has extensive family support… For 24 years, he has fought for this opportunity to clear his name. Now presented with that opportunity, there is no reason to think he is in any way a risk of flight or danger to the community,” Smith’s attorney, Mark Loudon-Brown, told the court.
A jury convicted Smith after his 2-month-old son, Chandler, died in 2002. Court records state that Brandon left the infant with Smith while she ran an errand. Chandler had recently received medical care, and doctors believed he was healthy at the time.
While Smith was returning the baby, he called the child’s mother and told her Chandler was not breathing.
Doctors initially determined that Chandler had injuries they believed were consistent with blunt-force trauma. A CT scan also showed a skull fracture. That medical interpretation became central to prosecutors’ case and Smith’s eventual murder conviction.
Brandon has continued to maintain that Smith was responsible for their son’s death.
Smith’s defense offered a different explanation, arguing that medical evidence available today calls into question the conclusions reached during his trial.
Chandler was born prematurely, and the pregnancy had complications. Defense attorneys also pointed to evidence that Brandon had previously sought medical help because of concerns about Chandler’s breathing and an episode in which the infant may have experienced a seizure and become temporarily unresponsive.
Medical approaches to unexplained injuries in infants have also evolved over the past 20 years. Doctors can now consider conditions such as seizures, complications associated with premature birth, falls and rare blood disorders when evaluating suspected abusive head trauma, as reported by 11 Alive.
That shift in medical understanding became a major part of Smith’s effort to obtain a new trial.
In 2023, after spending 21 years in prison, prosecutors offered Smith a plea deal that would have allowed him to leave prison with credit for time already served. Smith rejected the offer because accepting it would have required him to plead guilty to a crime, he continued to say he did not commit.
His attorneys later filed a motion seeking a new trial based on developments in medical science. During a 2024 hearing, the defense presented eight expert witnesses who testified that Chandler’s death was the result of medical complications connected to his premature birth rather than physical abuse.
The trial court initially rejected Smith’s request.
But in October 2025, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ordered the lower court to reconsider the case using the appropriate legal standard.
On July 21, a Gwinnett County Superior Court judge ultimately ruled that Smith had presented new evidence capable of creating reasonable doubt for a jury. The court granted his motion for a new trial, vacated his murder conviction and overturned his life sentence.
Smith’s release brought an emotional response from supporters outside the courthouse. Several people were seen crying and praying as they celebrated his return home.
Loudon-Brown said Smith also struggled with the emotional weight of the hearing.
“He was, he was emotional throughout, I think. You know, 24 years is a lot of time. And he also lost his son… So, there’s a gravity, I think, to this from so many different angles. And I think it overcame him at times,” Loudon-Brown said.
Pyatt, Smith’s fiancée, described his release as a moment of relief after years of legal battles.
“This county has drugged this family like this. I don’t understand why they did. Nobody wins. Nobody wins! Danyel can’t get back his 24 years. Chandler can’t come back here. Nobody wins, but we have been fighting to get the truth out,” Pyatt said. “We are a passionate family that just want justice to be done.”
“I’m glad to be free, well not free-free but it’s a start,” Smith told WSB-TV after his release.
Smith’s legal future remains unresolved. The state has appealed the order that overturned his conviction, and a timeline for that appeal has not been established. His defense estimates the appellate process could take as long as a year.
A potential retrial will remain on hold while the Georgia appellate courts consider the state’s challenge. "
The entire story can be read at: "
https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/09/09/ga-father-released-after-24-years-for-infant-sons-death/
A Gwinnett County Superior Court judge granted 51-year-old Danyel Smith a $100,000 bond following the court’s July decision to vacate his 2003 murder conviction and life sentence.
Smith will remain under strict house arrest in Clayton County with his longtime partner, LaTasha Pyatt, while the state challenges the ruling.
Smith must wear a GPS ankle monitor and can only leave his residence for medical emergencies or meetings with his attorneys. The district attorney’s office will receive a report of any technical violation of the monitoring requirements.
The judge also imposed a no-contact order prohibiting Smith from communicating directly or indirectly with Marsha Brandon, the mother of his deceased son, Chandler, or members of her immediate family.
Smith’s release marked the latest development in a case that has remained in Georgia’s courts for more than two decades. His conviction centered on what prosecutors originally described as “shaken baby syndrome,” according to FOX 5, a diagnosis that played a significant role in the case against him.
State prosecutors opposed Smith’s release, citing his 1999 misdemeanor record, questions surrounding statements he made in 2002 and the possibility that a defendant facing homicide charges could flee.
His attorneys, including lawyers with the Southern Center for Human Rights, argued that Smith has strong family and community ties, no felony convictions and an otherwise clean institutional record during his 24 years in prison.
“He’s 51 years old. He has two adult sons, and he has extensive family support… For 24 years, he has fought for this opportunity to clear his name. Now presented with that opportunity, there is no reason to think he is in any way a risk of flight or danger to the community,” Smith’s attorney, Mark Loudon-Brown, told the court.
A jury convicted Smith after his 2-month-old son, Chandler, died in 2002. Court records state that Brandon left the infant with Smith while she ran an errand. Chandler had recently received medical care, and doctors believed he was healthy at the time.
While Smith was returning the baby, he called the child’s mother and told her Chandler was not breathing.
Doctors initially determined that Chandler had injuries they believed were consistent with blunt-force trauma. A CT scan also showed a skull fracture. That medical interpretation became central to prosecutors’ case and Smith’s eventual murder conviction.
Brandon has continued to maintain that Smith was responsible for their son’s death.
Smith’s defense offered a different explanation, arguing that medical evidence available today calls into question the conclusions reached during his trial.
Chandler was born prematurely, and the pregnancy had complications. Defense attorneys also pointed to evidence that Brandon had previously sought medical help because of concerns about Chandler’s breathing and an episode in which the infant may have experienced a seizure and become temporarily unresponsive.
Medical approaches to unexplained injuries in infants have also evolved over the past 20 years. Doctors can now consider conditions such as seizures, complications associated with premature birth, falls and rare blood disorders when evaluating suspected abusive head trauma, as reported by 11 Alive.
That shift in medical understanding became a major part of Smith’s effort to obtain a new trial.
In 2023, after spending 21 years in prison, prosecutors offered Smith a plea deal that would have allowed him to leave prison with credit for time already served. Smith rejected the offer because accepting it would have required him to plead guilty to a crime, he continued to say he did not commit.
His attorneys later filed a motion seeking a new trial based on developments in medical science. During a 2024 hearing, the defense presented eight expert witnesses who testified that Chandler’s death was the result of medical complications connected to his premature birth rather than physical abuse.
The trial court initially rejected Smith’s request.
But in October 2025, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ordered the lower court to reconsider the case using the appropriate legal standard.
On July 21, a Gwinnett County Superior Court judge ultimately ruled that Smith had presented new evidence capable of creating reasonable doubt for a jury. The court granted his motion for a new trial, vacated his murder conviction and overturned his life sentence.
Smith’s release brought an emotional response from supporters outside the courthouse. Several people were seen crying and praying as they celebrated his return home.
Loudon-Brown said Smith also struggled with the emotional weight of the hearing.
“He was, he was emotional throughout, I think. You know, 24 years is a lot of time. And he also lost his son… So, there’s a gravity, I think, to this from so many different angles. And I think it overcame him at times,” Loudon-Brown said.
Pyatt, Smith’s fiancée, described his release as a moment of relief after years of legal battles.
“This county has drugged this family like this. I don’t understand why they did. Nobody wins. Nobody wins! Danyel can’t get back his 24 years. Chandler can’t come back here. Nobody wins, but we have been fighting to get the truth out,” Pyatt said. “We are a passionate family that just want justice to be done.”
“I’m glad to be free, well not free-free but it’s a start,” Smith told WSB-TV after his release.
Smith’s legal future remains unresolved. The state has appealed the order that overturned his conviction, and a timeline for that appeal has not been established. His defense estimates the appellate process could take as long as a year.
A potential retrial will remain on hold while the Georgia appellate courts consider the state’s challenge. "
The entire story can be read at: "
https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/09/09/ga-father-released-after-24-years-for-infant-sons-death/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;