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CNN Sunday Morning
Funeral Turns Into Legal Rally in Denver
Aired July 13, 2003 - 10:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Denver, the funeral for a disabled boy turns into a legal rally. Lawyer Johnnie Cochran vowed to sue over the police shooting.
Affiliate KMGH Reporter Rhonda Sholting takes us to Denver's Macedonia Baptist Church.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he'll say, my little one...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my little one...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... your life...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that you loved him, so the pain you feel is natural.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be standing there...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The loss of a child is always painful.
RHONDA SHOLTING, KMGH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Helen Childs, the unbearable pain of the loss of her son.
ASHLEY CHILDS, PAUL'S SISTER: Everybody who knew Paul loved Paul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are difficult times, and no words are adequate or can be expressed to bring the life of a child back to their parents.
SHOLTING: Gathered at the Macedonia Baptist Church, the hundreds of mourners were there to remember and say good-bye to 15-year-old Paul Childs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see, Paul was full of love, he was full of patience, and he was full of kindness.
SHOLTING: Killed a week before by a Denver police officer when he did not respond to commands to drop the knife he had in his hand. The officer who shot him, police say, felt threatened.
REV. REGINALD HOLMES, MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH: There must be punitive repercussions for people who use deadly force in every circumstance and certainly in circumstances when it is not called for! SHOLTING: In the midst of the solemn service came a call for action and a call for justice, voiced for the Childs' family by Johnnie Cochran, the attorney who will most likely take their case to court.
JOHNNIE COCHRAN, CHILDS' FAMILY ATTORNEY: We're just beginning. This is just the beginning. Let's remember Paul in the days and the weeks to come in our fight for justice here.
SHOLTING: But, despite the outpouring of support, it is Paul Childs' family who will miss him the most.
ASHLEY CHILDS: Paul will always be missed, always be loved, and he'll always be in my heart, and not a day that will go past that I will miss him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, Paul. I miss you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... really will come true. Some day...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 13, 2003 - 10:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In Denver, the funeral for a disabled boy turns into a legal rally. Lawyer Johnnie Cochran vowed to sue over the police shooting.
Affiliate KMGH Reporter Rhonda Sholting takes us to Denver's Macedonia Baptist Church.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he'll say, my little one...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my little one...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... your life...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know that you loved him, so the pain you feel is natural.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be standing there...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The loss of a child is always painful.
RHONDA SHOLTING, KMGH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Helen Childs, the unbearable pain of the loss of her son.
ASHLEY CHILDS, PAUL'S SISTER: Everybody who knew Paul loved Paul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are difficult times, and no words are adequate or can be expressed to bring the life of a child back to their parents.
SHOLTING: Gathered at the Macedonia Baptist Church, the hundreds of mourners were there to remember and say good-bye to 15-year-old Paul Childs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see, Paul was full of love, he was full of patience, and he was full of kindness.
SHOLTING: Killed a week before by a Denver police officer when he did not respond to commands to drop the knife he had in his hand. The officer who shot him, police say, felt threatened.
REV. REGINALD HOLMES, MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH: There must be punitive repercussions for people who use deadly force in every circumstance and certainly in circumstances when it is not called for! SHOLTING: In the midst of the solemn service came a call for action and a call for justice, voiced for the Childs' family by Johnnie Cochran, the attorney who will most likely take their case to court.
JOHNNIE COCHRAN, CHILDS' FAMILY ATTORNEY: We're just beginning. This is just the beginning. Let's remember Paul in the days and the weeks to come in our fight for justice here.
SHOLTING: But, despite the outpouring of support, it is Paul Childs' family who will miss him the most.
ASHLEY CHILDS: Paul will always be missed, always be loved, and he'll always be in my heart, and not a day that will go past that I will miss him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, Paul. I miss you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... really will come true. Some day...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
