Father Of Slain Boy Sets Aside His Criminal Past, Seeks Redemption

(CBS) – The wall of Antonio Brown's garden apartment is a shrine to his slain son, Amari Brown.

The 7-year-old's smile, clothes, even the $5 bill in his pocket when he was shot all keep him on the path, he says, to do better. It's a path he started walking the day his son was buried.

"When that casket closed, I just had a lot of thoughts like,'You know what? This can't be life. I don't want to put nothing into these streets no more. These streets just took my son,'" he says.

Amari was enjoying 2015's July Fourth outside when a drive-by shooter hit him with a bullet. Brown rode with him to the hospital and talked with him the entire ride.

Chicago police later said that bullet was meant for Brown, who has a lengthy criminal record, including several felony convictions. They says he refused to cooperate.

Brown says that's not true.

The 30-year-old insists he was never a gang member, yet he owns his criminal past. That's where he wants to leave it.  He's now going to school. He got his first job, and he's working with The Healing Corner, a group that tries to promote street peace.

"I try to speak out to the younger generation, because to tell you the truth, that's where the killing starts at," says Brown.

Brown believes he'll succeed.

"I come from the streets. If I can do it, anybody can do it," he says.

There are still hurdles. Brown goes to trial next month on a felony gun possession charge levied before Amari's death.

He has moved out of Chicago. He's gradually removing two tattoos from his face and plans to go to college.