Judge reacts to at-risk speech gone viral: 'I wanted to speak to their hearts'

A judge whose impassioned speech to at-risk youth went viral says that she didn't even realize the cameras were rolling at the time...

A judge whose impassioned speech to at-risk youth went viral says that she didn’t even realize the cameras were rolling at the time.

Bibb County Superior Court Judge Verda Colvin went viral when she brought a group of teens to tears during her “Consider the Consequences” class, telling them that they would have to face the consequences of poor choices if they continued on that path.

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“You can be in this body bag,” Colvin said of the possible consequences for the kids as she unfolded a white body bag. “And the only way somebody’s going to know you’re in here is because of this tag.”

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Colvin said that she didn’t realize she was going to go viral, admitting, “I did not expect or anticipate that was going to be recorded.”

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Still, she said, she was glad the video got out there, because she wants the message to resonate.

“For some reason there was a decision to tape it and I have to think it was predestined because I didn’t plan it. … I wanted to speak to their hearts and that’s what I did. … I am shocked that it has gone that far … I’m continually amazed because it renews what I’ve always thought – at the end of the day, everybody really cares about everybody else.”

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