Brian Nichols

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Brian Gene Nichols
Nichols after his surrender on March 12, 2005

Born	December 10, 1971 (1971-12-10) (age 36) Baltimore, Maryland , United States
Penalty	Pending
Status	Incarcerated, pending trial

Brian Gene Trout Nichols (born December 10, 1971) is a criminal known for his escape and killing spree in the Fulton county courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia on March 11, 2005.

1 Early life
2 The shootings and escape
3 Manhunt and capture
4 Indictment
5 Nichols' family reaction
6 Courthouse security concerns
7 Trial delayed
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Early life

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What little is known about Nichols' early life is that he came from a middle class family. He received his high school diploma in 1989 from the Cardinal Gibbons School in Baltimore, Maryland and attended college at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, for three semesters from 1989 to 1990. At that time, he was also on their football team. Berks County records show that Nichols had been arrested three times from 1990 to 1991 on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to making threats. After his brief stay at Kutztown, Nichols went to Newberry College from 1992 to 1993, and played football there. Athletic spokesman Ryan Gross said that during that time Nichols was kicked off the football team for stealing from a dorm room.

In early 2005, at the time of his trial for rape and false imprisonment, Nichols was a computer engineer working for UPS.^[1] According to his brother, Nichols earned a six-figure income and regularly attended church.

[edit] The shootings and escape

The State of Georgia alleges the following events took place on March 11, 2005: After a 51-year old female sheriff's deputy, 5'2" Cynthia Hall, removed his handcuffs so that he could change into civilian clothes in preparation for a court appearance, Nichols attacked the deputy and took her side arm. According to hospital sources, the deputy suffered bruising to her brain and some fractures around her face. After the attack, her condition was reported as critical, but she survived.

Nichols then crossed over to the old courthouse via a skybridge, where he entered the private chambers of Judge Rowland W. Barnes. While there, he encountered another deputy, overpowered him and also took his weapon. Nichols then entered Barnes' courtroom from a door behind the judge's bench, where Barnes was presiding over motions in a civil trial, and shot him in the back of the head. Nichols then shot Julie Brandau, the court reporter, and as he made his escape from the courthouse he shot Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, a pursuing deputy. Barnes and the court reporter died at the scene and the deputy was pronounced DOA at Grady Memorial Hospital.

During his escape Nichols tried to carjack at least three vehicles, ending up in a multi-level parking structure for Atlanta's Underground tourist area. He first took a tow truck at gunpoint outside the courtroom. Later he hijacked a Honda Accord from Don O'Briant, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Nichols pistol-whipped O'Briant in order to gain control of the car.

It was later reported that the Honda Accord never left the parking deck from which it was stolen. Police began treating the deck as a crime scene around 11:45 p.m. EST^[when?] and examining security cameras. Investigators suspected Nichols may have abandoned the car after spotting an easier target, taking the owner with him to avoid being reported.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard's office later announced that a call had been received from a man claiming to be Nichols, who threatened to kill Assistant District Attorney Gayle Abramson. It was also announced that Nichols stole a gun from a second deputy.

[edit] Manhunt and capture

After a press conference consisting of various members of the Atlanta Police Department and Mayor Shirley Franklin, it was announced that there was a reward of approximately $60,000 for information leading to Nichols' arrest.^{[citation needed]}

On the morning of Saturday, March 12,^{[year needed]} it was reported^{[citation needed]} that a U.S. Customs Agent, identified as David Wilhelm, was shot and killed somewhere in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, and that the agent's badge, gun and pickup truck were missing. Nichols is the prime suspect in the murder of Wilhelm.

Nichols later approached a woman named Ashley Smith at an apartment complex in Duluth, Georgia, approximately 27 miles north of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. Nichols reportedly told her that he was a wanted man. He then forced her into the bathroom and tied her up. He placed a hand towel over her head while he took a shower (so that she wouldn't have to watch him). She was sitting on a stool with the towel around her eyes when she told him about her five-year-old daughter, Paige. Thinking she may never see her daughter again, she tried to reason with him.^{[citation needed]}

Smith was held hostage for several hours in her own apartment, during which time Nichols requested marijuana, but Smith told him she only had "ice" (methamphetamine). In her book Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero, Smith revealed that she “had been struggling with a methamphetamine addiction when she was taken hostage,” and the last time she used meth “was 36 hours before Nichols held a gun to her and entered her home. Nichols wanted her to use the drug with him, but she refused.”^[2] Instead, she chose to read to him from the Bible and Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life. She tried to convince Nichols to turn himself in by sharing with him how her husband "had died in her arms four years earlier after being stabbed during a brawl."^[3] Smith also writes that she asked Nichols “if he wanted to see the danger of drugs and lifted up her tank top several inches to reveal a five-inch scar down the center of her torso — the aftermath of a car wreck caused by drug-induced psychosis. She says she let go of the steering wheel when she heard a voice saying, ‘Let go and let God.’”^[3] When news of his crimes was reported on television, Nichols looked to the ceiling and asked the Lord to forgive him. In the morning Smith cooked breakfast for Nichols.

When Nichols let Smith leave her apartment to visit her daughter, Smith called 9-1-1, and local law enforcement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms responded to the scene. The Gwinnett SWAT team quickly surrounded the apartment. After some time, Nichols surrendered peacefully to the SWAT Team and was quickly taken away. Atlanta police chief Richard Pennington admitted surprise that Nichols surrendered peacefully.

Police initially thought that Smith may have had a prior relationship with Nichols, but later decided that she was chosen at random. Following Nichols' arrest, Smith is believed to be eligible for the reward for his capture.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Indictment

On May 5, 2005, he was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury on 54 counts including murder, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, battery, theft, carjacking, and escape from authorities.

Nichols subsequently pled not guilty to the charges on May 17. Jury selection began in January 2007. Nichols' attorneys disclosed at that time that they wanted to defend Nichols on the basis of mental health. They did not disclose any further information.^[4] Nichols' pre-trial hearing commenced mid-September 2007. His defense attorneys submitted that they were not receiving enough funding. Nichols' attorneys attributed this to the Georgia legislature limiting state funding for defense attorneys, the prosecution continuing to interview witnesses (which the defense then must interview) and the complication of factoring in the mental health defense. His trial was expected to commence October 2, 2007, but was delayed (see Trial delayed, below).^[5]

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced he would seek the death penalty. Nichols is expected to become Georgia's most expensive defendant, with his case likely topping $5 million for the prosecution and defense combined. The judge and Standards Council assigned Nichols four attorneys.

The prosecution secured a 54-count indictment and has more than 300 people on its witness list. That's the most of any death penalty case that Mears,Template:Whoisthis who has written books on the death penalty in Georgia, is aware of in his 24-year career.^{[citation needed]}

The trial also could become one of the longest death penalty cases in the state's history, lasting up to seven months instead of the usual four to six weeks.

[edit] Nichols' family reaction

Nichols' parents were not available for immediate reaction, as they were traveling abroad in Africa where Nichols' mother works. She became aware of her son's case via a CNN broadcast while in Tanzania. She remains in contact with Nichols' criminal attorney Barry Hazen via email.

Nichols' brother Mark was very upset, quoting "Everyone knows me as the brother of the person who killed those people".

Nichols' aunt and uncle state that their families hearts go out to those family members whose loved ones were killed. He stated that "Brian is a nice young man as far as we know. I don't know what happened".

Childhood friend Maxine Glover described Nichols as a "normal young child playing with the other kids in the block, very well mannered, had no problems with him at all".

[edit] Courthouse security concerns

The shooting deaths of three people in a courthouse by Nichols led to intense debate about the state of security in public buildings, especially courtrooms.

An episode of American Justice titled "Murder in the Court" deals with famous legal-related murders including the one done by Brian Nichols and the attack on the Chicago federal judge.

[edit] Trial delayed

Almost 3 years after the shooting, Nichols' trial has yet to begin. It was reported on January 30, 2008, that Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, who took on the case after local judges recused themselves due to their friendship with the murdered judge, has himself decided to step down. Fuller had suspended the trial indefinitely because the state public defender's office, amid a budget crunch, had cut off funding to Nichols' lawyers. He agreed to be interviewed by CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who incorporated remarks made during the interview into an article subsequently published in the January 30 issue of The New Yorker. In it, Fuller said the "only defense" open to Nichols' defense attorneys was an insanity defense, "because everyone in the world knows he did it."^[1]

In his letter to the chief judge for Fulton County Superior Court, Judge Fuller stated that "judicial impartiality, real and perceived, is a critical element of the trial process," and "in light of recent media reports, I am no longer hopeful that I can provide a trial perceived to be fair to both the state and the accused."