Benji Edwards, Benji, Smithville discussed on Cape Up with Jonathan Capehart
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Want to take us through to where you were? I'm kind of scared. Let me move. Come on. I don't think I got lights though. Nope, some lights not working here. But this is where I would Benji Edwards is leading me through his childhood home. It was built by his mom and dad in the 1960s or in a small town in Mississippi in the heart of the Bible belt. It's about two hours from Birmingham. I grew up right here. My bedroom is that last door right there to the. To the left. I came here to this town smithville to meet Benji after I learned what happened to him. He warned me this house was in rough condition. The ceilings are starting to fall in and everything. Now it's in bad shape. It was in bad shape then, but it was livable. You know? There's a noticeable dent on the front door, and a tarp covered the roof. Mosquito netting was tacked up on one of the windows. And the mint green siding was caked with dirt. It was kind of cramped growing up here with his 5 siblings. His family eventually moved out, but Benji had spent his whole life here until a couple years ago. The repairs were hard, but it was the memories of what happened here that made it too difficult to stay. As we walk through the house, Benji slows down. And he's wiry and about 6 feet tall, and he kind of ducks his head even when there's plenty of room to get through a doorway. As we approach his old bedroom,.