Danielle Edwards and her boyfriend Taylor Layman spend time with their children in their Augusta home in 2024. Photo credit: Kaleen Enke for Motherhood Beyond Bars
Walking into court, Danielle Edwards thought she might have a chance to get her daughter back—someday.
She’d given birth to Lily two years earlier as a state prisoner, and the relative who’d cared for the child since was seeking full custody. Edwards had been out for a year and was proud of her progress. She was sober and had a job, a home and a car. But when she recognized the judge that fall day in 2020, Edwards said she felt her hopes vanish. The Walton County judge knew her from the drug-dealing case that sent Edwards to prison…