# After more than two decades in prison, father granted new trial in son’s death – AJC.com > A Gwinnett County judge has granted a new trial to Danyel Smith, who was convicted more than two decades ago in the shaken-baby death of his 2-month-old son, Chandler. Smith has consistently maintaine… **Published**: 2026-07-22 **Source**: https://gps.press/gps-news/after-more-than-two-decades-in-prison-father-granted-new-trial-in-sons-death-ajc-com/ **Author**: Georgia Prisoners' Speak --- A Gwinnett County judge has granted a new trial to Danyel Smith, who was convicted more than two decades ago in the shaken-baby death of his 2-month-old son, Chandler. Smith has consistently maintained his innocence, and his defense team has sought to present new evidence they believe could exonerate him. In 2023, Gwinnett prosecutors offered Smith a plea deal that would have released him from prison if he admitted to killing the child, but Smith rejected it, refusing to confess to a crime he says he did not commit. The ruling directly involves Georgia's criminal justice system through the Gwinnett County courts and the Georgia Department of Corrections, which has held Smith for over 20 years.