LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The attorney for a Lawrenceville mother charged with murder after her 1-year-old son died in a hot car says the case is a heartbreaking accident that should not be prosecuted as a crime.

Attorney Tom Ford defended his client, 29-year-old Deja Coleman, during an interview with Atlanta News First on Monday, arguing prosecutors have unfairly labeled a grieving mother as a murderer.

“An accident, an accident you can be charged with second-degree murder,” Ford said.

Coleman is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children after police say she left her 1-year-old son inside her vehicle for about nine hours last Wednesday.

According to the Lawrenceville Police Department, officers responded just before 4 p.m. after a passerby reported an unresponsive child inside a vehicle parked at Northside Hospital Gwinnett. Officers arrived within minutes, broke a window to reach the child, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Coleman forgot her son was still in the back seat after dropping off her two older children at daycare before going to work. Investigators have said Coleman was devastated when she learned what had happened.

Ford said Coleman was living in a protective shelter after leaving what he described as an abusive relationship and was caring for her three children while sleep deprived. He argued those circumstances contributed to the tragedy and should not result in criminal charges.

“We’ve labeled a grieving mother a murderer,” Ford said. “She’s preparing for the funeral services of her son while she can’t get a bond because she’s called a murderer. That’s wrong. That’s not the society we live in to criminalize good faith mistakes.”

Ford also questioned whether Coleman should face any criminal charges.

“I would submit there’s no charges at all because to be tired is not a crime,” he said.

The attorney described Coleman as a devoted mother and said the child’s death was not the result of neglect or intent to cause harm.

“You won’t find a citizen on this planet that will say that she didn’t love and adore these three children,” Ford said.

Ford said Coleman has relied on her faith while coping with the loss of her son.

“I have been moved by spending time with her, her faith in God,” he said. “She told me last night that she’s learned that she felt that her purpose in this was to learn humility, to learn patience and grace.”

The Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office has not publicly responded to Ford’s remarks.

The case remains under investigation.

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