[Jake Tapper, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome back to THE LEAD. In the national lead, it's a mystery that tormented a Georgia family for nearly a year. How did their 17-year-old son die in what should have been the safety of his school? His bloody body was found rolled up inside a gym mat. Well, the parents of Kendrick Johnson have been relentless in their quest for answers, ever since his death back in January. Just hours ago, the U.S. attorney in Georgia agreed to launch a federal investigation.
[Michael Moore, U.s. Attorney For The Middle District Of Georgia:] My objective is to discover the truth, and I believe that can only be done by gathering all of the evidence and relevant information surrounding Mr. Johnson's death.
[Tapper:] Now, the Lowndes County sheriff's department has said all along that Johnson's death was a freak accident, that there was no evidence of foul play, but the teen's parents think their son was murdered and that the school and sheriff's office are guilty of a cover-up. The family launched its own investigation and found blood smears on a wall near where Johnson's body was found. And a private pathologist hired by the family found evidence of a blow to the side of his neck. These discrepancies have led some experts to question the official explanation that Kendrick had suffocated reaching for a sneaker. CNN has been covering every angle of this story from the start and we managed to get access to surveillance video from the school the day of Johnson's death. The video shows him in a hallway and entering the gym, where other students are playing basketball. But none of the released images show the moment he died. Still, Johnson's parents say they're hopeful that with the Feds now getting involved, a fresh pair of eyes will uncover what really happened. And joining us now from Tallahassee, Florida, are Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson, Kendrick's parents, along with the family's attorney, Chevene King, and Benjamin Crump. Thank you all for joining us. And, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, we are so sorry for your loss. Kenneth Johnson, I would like to start with you. What's your reaction to the U.S. attorney general's decision to reopen your son's case?
[Kenneth Johnson, Kendrick Johnson's Fahter:] Well, we're happy that a fresh pair of eyes is starting to look at Kendrick's case, and we're just waiting on the truth to really come out.
[Tapper:] Jacquelyn, why do you believe that the school or the sheriff's office or anyone would attempt to cover up or at the very least, not try to get to the bottom of the circumstances behind your son's death?
[Jacquelyn Johnson, Kendrick Johnson's Mother:] I don't know. That's what we're trying to find out. That's why we're trying to get to the truth. I have no idea.
[Tapper:] Chevene, do you think race played a role at all in how the initial investigation into Kendrick's death was handled?
[Chevene King, Family Attorney:] Well, certainly you have to consider race as a factor. But I don't think that that's the end-all in terms of trying to understand why this case was handled in the way that it was. We believe that certainly if there is a cover-up, it is a cover-up for somebody and not a nobody. So, who this person might be or who the individuals might be is a mystery at this point, and we are hoping that the investigation that the federal government will now actively get going will help to uncover the truth in that regard.
[Tapper:] And, Chevene, just to follow up, do you have any suspicions or you just have this mystery and you're trying to figure out why there wasn't this due diligence done, in your opinion?
[King:] Well, over the now going on ten months that I have been involved in this case, we have received bits and pieces of information from various sources within the community. You have to understand that Valdosta is a small community and that there's no such thing as a secret. And so, while we have our ideas as to who may have been involved, we have not received this information in such a way that you could say that it is completely reliable. We do intend to pursue our investigation through the use of a coroner's inquest. We hope that in this process, the various individuals will be subpoenaed and compelled to give testimony, and give us the information that the family has been in search of for so long.
[Tapper:] Benjamin Crump, we know you worked closely, of course, with the parents of Trayvon Martin to pursue justice for their son. Do you intend to pursue a civil rights case in Kendrick Johnson's case regardless of the outcome of the federal investigation?
[Benjamin Crump, Family Attorney:] We certainly plan, Jake, to explore all possible legal remedies to hold those individuals accountable who killed Kendrick Johnson and those who covered up for those individuals. Because make no mistake about it: his parents never accepted this explanation that he climbed into a wrestling mat, got stuck and died. It flew in the face of all common sense, logic and the laws of physics. What's more likely to have happened, he was murdered and there's been some conspiracy to cover up the truth here. This is a murder mystery and we're going to get to the bottom of it, Jake.
[Tapper:] Kenneth, tell us what the past 10 months have been like for you and your family as you've dealt with the grieving process and also tried to pursue justice.
[K. Johnson:] Well, it's been hard for the last 10 months. You know, me and my wife haven't worked since January, since this happened to Kendrick. We've just been trying to move forward. We've been on the corner protesting for six days a week, there's for the last six months now, and it's just been hard, you know? We just gave up everything to fight for justice for our son, you know? We've just been fighting, fighting. We just gave up everything.
[Tapper:] And, of course, behind this all, there was a young man of immense promise, Kendrick. And, Jacquelyn, I want to give you the final word. Tell us about Kendrick. What should people at home who are watching right now, what should they know about him?
[K. Johnson:] Well, Kendrick was a nice young man. He was the son every parent will dream to have. You know, Kendrick had never been in trouble with the law. He had never been in trouble at school. He just was a great child, you know? He had one incident with a young man at school, but Kendrick was a great child. Any parent would have loved to have a child like Kendrick Johnson.
[Tapper:] Jacquelyn, the same question?
[J. Johnson:] He was an athlete. He was funny. He always did little silly things. He was the life of our house.
[Tapper:] Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Jacqueline and Kenneth Johnson. And the rest of you, thank you so much for joining us. We hope you find justice and we hope you find peace.
[J. Johnson:] Thank you.
[K. Johnson:] Thank you.
[King:] Thank you.
[Crump:] Thank you.
[Tapper:] And within the past hour, we have received a statement from the Lowndes sheriff's department reacting to the U.S. attorney's decision to reopen the Johnson case. It reads in part, "While Sheriff Pine has every confidence that his office's investigation was handled with the necessary diligence to assure that all leads were examined and exhausted, he welcomes the U.S. attorney's further review of the case." Coming up on
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