Ah. So there it is.

The chick guarding Nichols was 51?????

Gosh, can't imagine how he managed to overpower her.

And she was about 5'. He is about 6 feet 1 inch.

That's like me (5'2") trying to subdue Arlie (he's 6'4").

Anyone else laughing at that?

Dateline special during May Sweeps

On this board, you think people are LAUGHING at the thought of you wrestling Arlie? You don't know these guys very well

My four thoughts on the Atlanta situation:

- It's been brought up in at least one article that extra security for this trial was specifically requested after they found the shanks on this guy the day before. One 5' 51-year-old-grandmother does not sound like extra security. I can understand typical complacency, but an event had already occurred that should have snapped them out of complacency on this one guy in particular.

- Can you see the lawsuits rolling in now that it turns out people weren't even watching the security cameras? Jobs will be lost and money made off the city over that one alone.

- Condolences to all involved. Several lives lost that had nothing to do with botching security at the courthouse. A true tragedy.

- TV movie in 3 months, books start rolling in six. Have to wait a year or more for any that try to accurately get to the root of what happened.

Isn't this almost the same as the Barry Bonds quote from a few weeks ago?

It will not take that long. Former Fulton Sherriff Jackie Barrett spent more time stealing money from the county (in the millions) than running her department, and when she was removed left it in a complete mess. The most apparent problem was the jail, and it has taken a lot of time, effort and attention to get that in function order. Meanwhile, with the focus of the leadership on the jail and getting its manpower up to snuff, security at the courthouse has been falling into ruin. Unfortunately, it took this to get anyones attention. I have a feeling now there is going to be a lot of over-hauling done on security procedures at the courthouse.

There goes FBCB2...

dola: Sorry, couldn't reisist with the coincidence (I keep picturing the Seinfeld episode "It's not him!!!")


I certainly hope that they begin securing people much better in the future. How did it seem like a good idea to have a 51 year old lady watching this guy?

Who was in charge of the early search? Well, it sounds like no one, really...

I would say that again is a failure of the Sherriff's department. They would be in charge of the courthouse, and it would be up to them to ask for immediate help from the Atlanta Police (who would have the manpower to actually hunt for the killer).

Unfathomably, this story just keeps getting worse. From this morning's AJC...

Just in case anybody might be wondering how such a large county ended up with such an apparent nitwit as Sheriff ...

http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/chronpop/224
Basically, the originally elected sheriff was murdered in a conspiracy led by the man he defeated.

So, the second choice gets elected to fill the vacancy
http://www.ajc.com/monday/content/ep...a012f10a2.html

Talk to some "regular people" (i.e. non-politicians) who knew Freeman during his GSP career & you get a pretty good understanding of how he got where he is today. Let's just say they aren't exactly complimentary of his law enforcement (or mental) capabilities. But he's a heck of an ass-kisser from what I gather.

Certainly, no guarantees that Derwin Brown would have been any better ... but I bet I'm not the only person who has wondered what-might-have-been in the past couple of weeks.

Good grief - is Atlanta the Dodge City of the 21st century? Should we call the National Guard in?

Derwin Brown was to be sheriff in DeKalb County. I think the second article is about Fulton County, where the courthouse shootings took place.

I think my brain just cross-wired. Never sleep too little, work, and throw a quick post up all in close proxmity to each other.

Thx for the straightening, I was just brain cramped I guess.

We can't - they're all in Iraq.

You're welcome for the fat pitch, Flere. :D

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/12603776.htm

ATLANTA - Months after a shooting rampage left three dead at the Fulton County Courthouse, exasperated judges said that security cameras still haven't been plugged in and faulty doors have yet to be replaced.

A task force charged with making security recommendations after the shooting also said Friday that the number of sworn officers assigned to the courthouse must be increased by roughly a third to secure the downtown Atlanta building.

The findings prompted outcry from members of the panel angry at the county's cumbersome bureaucracy, which has been slow to react to the March 11 shootings despite repeated urgings from the task force.

"A shooting of a judge - how more squeaky of a wheel can there be?" said Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, a member of the panel.

"Here we are months later and we're talking about the same things," she said. "We can't get a definite answer as to whether cameras are working or whether they received our request. There's a breakdown somewhere."

At a July meeting, panel member Richard Pennington, the Atlanta Police Chief, said dozens of work orders to repair malfunctioning security cameras, busted parking garage gates and faulty doors were ignored. Courthouse officials made 34 requests to repair malfunctioning alarms, for instance, but only 12 requests were acknowledged.

Pennington said maintenance workers still haven't responded to the panel's requests for an explanation. At the same time, the sheriff's department has repeatedly failed to attend weekly meetings with the agency that oversees the repairs. Four of the last six meetings scheduled between the two departments have been canceled by the sheriff's department, said Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, a member of the panel.

"A fire needs to be lit under somebody," Bedford said.

Even so, DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, a member of the panel, recommended giving Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman more authority to directly hire sheriff's staffers, rather than go through the county's personnel department.

A panel report recommended that 314 sworn officers should be assigned to the courthouse - a significant increase from the 200 to 235 officers now working in the building. Part of the problem, Brown said, is that sheriff's officials must wade through daunting red tape to fill vacancies.

"There is no way to easily fill the positions. That's the way the bureaucracy was designed," Brown said with a sigh.

Ultimately, the task force's recommendations will be in the hands of Freeman, who was besieged by calls for his resignation after the deadly shootings.

Brian Nichols, who was on trial on a rape charge, is accused of shooting Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and court reporter Julie Ann Brandau in the courthouse and sheriff's Sgt. Hoyt Teasley outside the courthouse. A fourth victim, federal agent David Wilhelm, was killed at his home later in the day.

And people wonder why this crap happens...

Anyone else think it's time for someone in Atlanta to clean house? Where's the outrage? For people in Atlanta - are the news networks covering this?

I feel like it's pretty much an afterthought in a lot of ways. This got less play in the AJC for example, than an addition to the new downtown aquarium.

Here's a look at the headlines, you can see where this ranked.

MORE HEADLINES

• Ophelia a hurricane again | Path | • Perdue signs gas bills
• Panel: Security still lax at courthouse | • Shopper takes on Wal-Mart
• Dog shot with arrow; teen charged | • Sculpture dedicated to Lewis

This reminds me of a great story that I read a few years ago, that started with a parable frequently used by a local political analyst to describe Atlanta city government. (if anybody can find this, I'd be indebted, I've lost my link to the actual quote). I'll have to paraphrase.

A young man of about 18 goes to a fortune teller & asks about his future.
She peers into her crystal ball and gravely tells him that his 20's were sure to be full of misery & woe, lost jobs, lost love, poor health. And that his 30's were even worse, with personal & financial ruin time & again, he would find himself suffering in complete misery. Desparate for some glimmer of hope, he asks "What about in my 40's". She replies "Eh, it won't be as bad. By then, you'll be used to it".

That pretty much sums up the situation with a lot of county government around Atlanta. It's been so bad for so long, people don't seem to notice as much as you might think, basically they've gotten used to it.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metr...26nichols.html

Judges maintain little work done on courthouse security

By RHONDA COOK, BETH WARREN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/26/05

Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. walked from a first-floor public hallway at the downtown county courthouse into a restricted area leading to his colleagues' offices.

After passing a desk where an unarmed civilian security officer sat, Bedford and a visitor approached Courtroom 1C from the back. The door was unlocked.

"Look at the first floor," the frustrated judge said as he opened the door and looked over his shoulders to the area he had just passed. "It's wide open."

It was through a similar unlocked door on March 11 that authorities say Brian Nichols entered Judge Rowland Barnes' courtroom and fatally shot him and his court reporter, Julie Ann Brandau.

Since that time Bedford and others, including a security commission formed by Sheriff Myron Freeman, say little has changed to make the courthouse safe.

But Sheriff's Maj. Antonio Johnson, who has been in charge of courthouse security since last month, said there have been improvements in security in the six months since the killings, which included the deaths of a deputy sheriff and later a U.S. Customs agent.

"They [judges] have a right to have concerns, and I'm trying to make sure their concerns are not overlooked," Johnson said. "I'm going to do everything I can" to make the building secure.

Progress claimed

Bedford said judges have been lobbying the Sheriff's Department and county for more than a year to install a locked door leading to the judges' offices, where magistrates and one Superior Court judge work.

"We've been told that's in the works," Bedford said.

Johnson and county officials say Fulton is spending $750,000 to improve security, and much is in the works, including the installation of cameras and more secure doors, and retraining of deputies.

According to Johnson, courtrooms on each floor have been wired to provide electricity to surveillance cameras that are being installed, although only cameras on the first floor are working. Camera connections remain to be completed in 12 courtrooms.

The cameras would transmit images to a larger control room, which would replace the current station. Deputies also will have larger monitors to watch courthouse activity.

Johnson said 25 of the 63 doors to inmate cells in the courthouse have been retrofitted with trap doors so deputies can handcuff inmates without coming in contact with them. A deputy was removing Nichols' handcuffs when he allegedly overpowered her, got her gun and began his shooting spree.

Johnson said three steel doors are removed each day and sent out to have slots cut into them. He said work on all of the doors should be completed in October.

He said Bedford's concerns about open areas leading to some first-floor judges' chambers will be addressed as soon as the Atlanta Fire Department approves adding a wall and locked door to an area that is now a fire escape route.

X-ray machines at the courthouse's two main entrances have been replaced with new technology and duress buttons for judges and court staff have been "revamped . . . and are all operational," Johnson said. Exit doors leading from the courthouse on the Pryor Street side of the judicial complex have been reinforced.

Freeman said he routinely will rotate deputies from posts throughout the courthouse to keep them from becoming complacent. He was referring to concerns that deputies were following orders from judges instead of their superiors.

"When I hear a judge tell me 'my deputy' that tells me I have a problem," Freeman said. "The Secret Service always rotates staff . . . so you don't get so familiar, so you don't get involved. You've got to be able to do your job and do it effectively and efficiently. Sometimes you can't do your job well if you're too emotionally involved."

State Court Judge Henry Newkirk, a member of Freeman's task force, said he has noticed increased security in the parking area — a new fence has been installed for judges — and inside the courthouse.

"I feel very safe coming in the courthouse," Newkirk said. "I think there's a very good presence of deputy sheriffs within the courthouse. There's always room for improvement, and I hope things continue to progress."Infighting blamed

Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison, who serves on the subcommittee that reviewed three previous security audits of courtroom security as well as requests for repairs, said he's not sure who is right.

"I would have to defer to the judges on the commission and the people who work inside the Fulton County Courthouse day in and day out," Garrison said. "They are the ones telling us, 'No, these things are not done.' "

Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington, who heads the task force's subcommittee assigned to building security and repairs, has said repeatedly that courthouse safety has been compromised by bureaucratic power struggles and communication problems between the judges, the Sheriff's Department and the county's General Services Department, which maintains the building and is responsible for seeing that repairs are done.

But Friday, a spokeswoman for Pennington said the chief was briefed several days ago on the status of work and was told most of the problems had been fixed.

Johnson, who replaced Maj. Orlando Whitehead as head of security after Freeman forced Whitehead to retire, contended the Sheriff's Department would make sure improvements are made.

"We're going to work with everybody," Johnson said. "My job is to get the job done. Unfortunately, some things take a while."

Courtroom 1C, which Judge Bedford found unlocked, is the same courtroom where Nichols' pretrial hearings are held. He has pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered Barnes, Brandau, Deputy Hoyt Teasley and customs agent David Wilhelm. He could be sentenced to die if he is convicted of any of the four killings.

For Bedford, who lost a close friend in the courthouse shootings, the slow delay in improvements is worrisome.

"I just have an overwhelming sense of sadness," Bedford said Friday as he pointed to a picture of Barnes on his desk. "We're just trying to prevent it from happening again."

Seems that Saint Ashley had a little ice in her apartment that fateful night. The big speculation at the UGA boards back then was "Did he hit it?" Hmmmmm.....

I think I am going to puke...were they trying to write an account of what happened, or a Fabio-esque bodice ripper???? Blech!

That quote in particular was fodder for the little something in my gut that thought from early on, "She did him."

Ewwww! I had never even thought of that, but now I can't get the visual out of my mind!!!!! Thanks a lot! :mad:

I wouldn't doubt it if she did...the guy was a natural charmer. Even in that kind of circumstance, I could see where someone would be taken by him.

Heh. Based on her comments about their level of trust and interaction, I wondered about it from the start, and it was the subject of a lot of debate for several days at one UGA board.

This also explain why she didn't have custody of the kid.

It was also the subject of quite a bit of speculation here at my house. It just seemed so obvious.

Don't you think if she did ride him she'd include it in her book to maximize sales and capitalize on her 5 minutes of fame? I mean crystal meth isn't cheap and she has to fund her habit ... oh, sure she's "clean" now.

If she were to admit it, wouldn't that set herself up for a charge of aidin' and abettin'? Plus, she's pretty, uh, white-trashy. If it happened, I'd say that there's a better than even chance that she wouldn't want her friends and family to know.

She could claim "stockholm syndrome".

Good point. Or, she could claim that she was just trying to get him to fall asleep afterward. :p

How would nailing him be aiding and abetting? It's no different than providing him with drugs, is it?

I just want to know what the over/under line is on how long it'll be before she's arrested for either a drug charge or something connected to another bad-choice boyfriend.

Of course, he could have just raped her.

Agreed. I actually would think providing him with drugs would be worse legally. Though I do agree with Ben on the thought she might just didn't want to face her family if she admitted to sex.

I know nothing about how the law would work in this case. I was merely wondering if she might be worried that if she admitted that she gave him drugs, had sex with him and fed him all without being directly asked or forced, she might be seen as an ally of his. {shrug}


My suspicions are further stoked by the drug revelation specifically because I'm wondering why she didn't just lie to him. This conversation is just a little hard to imagine:

Admitted Mass Murderer: "You got any reefer?"

Unwilling, Fearful Captive: "No, but I've got some ice. You want that?"

She doesn't come across as the sharpest knife in the drawer by any means, but I'm having a hard time fathoming how she thought that geting him high would help make her more safe. :confused:

Especially on meth. It is not a "calming" drug.

I could turn her around, I could make her a better person... oh wait...

Never mind guys, got that "feminine side" under control... Won't be getting in touch with it again, anytime soon...

But she is hot in a trashy sort or way. Why couldn't she just do Penthouse like every other not-so-famous, not-so-hot personality?

-Chas

Hey baby... have any fugitive in you?

Has she admitted to being a stripper yet?

That was my first thought last spring when she said she "got home from work" about 2 AM.

Yup, no one but strippers work late nights... :rolleyes:

what's the over/under on the book proceeds going to a brand new meth lab named "angel dust" in atlanta?

Perhaps worded incorrectly, but spare me the rolly eyes.

Point is there was a "there's something not quite right about this one vibe."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...arnessuit.html

Attorneys representing the widow of a judge fatally gunned down in his courtroom sent written notice today to county officials that a wrongful death lawsuit will be filed soon.

The notice, sent to the Fulton County manager, commission chair and Sheriff Myron Freeman, warns that the suit will single out the sheriff's employees who violated departmental policies and failed to protect Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and others.
...
When he was killed, Barnes was overseeing a civil case without an armed deputy in the courtroom — something the Barnes' family attorneys says is a violation of Georgia law.

The notice names Capt. Chelisa Lee, an 18-year sheriff's department veteran who failed to pass along information about the discovery of metal in Nichols' shoes and failed to assign additional security to Nichols. Investigators say Lee lied to cover up for her inaction. She was one of several employees fired or forced to retire in August.

Lee, who is appealing her firing, had sent a subordinate to get her breakfast at a time when the subordinate was supposed to be monitoring security cameras around the courthouse. Neither security specialist Alphonzo Wright nor deputy Paul Tamer were at their posts in the video control room when Deputy Cynthia Hall, who was escorting Nichols, was overpowered, investigators said. The investigators also found that the video monitoring equipment had not been activated for that day.

Wright and Tamer are also named in the notice as targets of the upcoming lawsuit. So is Maj. Orlando Whitehead, who was in command of courthouse security. Whitehead, a 17-year department veteran, retired in August in lieu of being fired.

"Another of the most culpable officers is Lt. Gary Reid," the notice of an expected suit claims. "As a direct result of Reid's abuse of sick leave, there was a critical under-staffing in the area immediately surrounding Judge Barnes' office and courtroom."

Reid, an 18-year sheriff's department veteran, received a 20-day suspension and no longer works at the courthouse. He had no comment on the allegations against him.

Not directly related to the courthouse shooting, but close enough that the hits just keep on coming ...

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/12885927.htm
Georgia deputy arrested in Alabama on cocaine charge
MOBILE, Ala. - A Fulton County, Ga., sheriff's lieutenant who works as a supervisor at the county jail has been arrested and charged in Alabama with trafficking cocaine, authorities said Wednesday.

Dwayne Turner, 40, of Jonesboro, Ga., was arrested by FBI agents and Mobile County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday, FBI special agent in charge Debra K. Mack said in a statement.

Turner, who was suspended from the sheriff's department 15 months ago for authorizing a rap video in the jail, was arrested in the parking lot of a restaurant near the intersection of Interstate 85 and East Avenue in Montgomery.

A criminal complaint against Turner was filed Oct. 5 before U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Cassady in Mobile, charging Turner with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

The complaint resulted from a joint probe by the Mobile County sheriff's office and the FBI in Mobile, the statement said.

If convicted, Turner could be sentenced to a maximum 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Sgt. Nikita Hightower, a spokeswoman for Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman, said the drug case was unrelated to the jail. Hightower said an internal investigation would be launched and that Turner, an employee since 1991, probably would be suspended indefinitely once all the information was received from the FBI.

She said the department first learned of the investigation against Turner when he was arrested.

According to the FBI affidavit, a man arrested in April with about a half-pound of cocaine identified Turner as a supplier of both cocaine and marijuana, which the informant said he sold in the Mobile area.

The informant, whose name was blacked out in a copy of the affidavit obtained by The Associated Press, arranged a meeting with Turner at a Montgomery restaurant on Oct. 4. There, the informant purchased a Zip-Loc plastic bag of about 4 ounces of cocaine for $3,000, the affidavit indicated.

In the summer of 2004, former Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett suspended Turner and three other deputies for their roles in allowing rapper Clifford Harris, known as T.I., to use a maximum security cell, guards and inmates as props for a video.

Barrett at first fired Turner, but Hightower said the termination was reduced to a suspension.

I love TI.

Since at least one person recognizes the name TI (I wasn't sure how known/unknown he was), here's the original story.

ATLANTA (AP) - A best-selling rapper filmed an unauthorized video at the Fulton County Jail while out on work release from another jail, embarrassed county officials said.

Part of a video for rapper Clifford Harris, whose stage name is T.I., was shot Thursday night, authorities said.

An Atlantic Records spokesman for the rapper did not immediately return calls for comment.

Harris' first album, "I'm Serious," was released in 2001. His second album, "Trap Muzik," was a best-seller on the charts last year.

Harris was serving jail time in neighboring Cobb County on a probation violation when he received permission to leave the jail to make the tape at the Fulton jail, Cobb County Chief Deputy Sheriff Lynda Coker said.

A spokesman for Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett said she had no idea a rap video was being filmed inside the 3,200-inmate jail. Deputies apparently allowed "four or five" men up to the seventh floor with a hand-held camcorder, Barrett said. Barrett said the deputies would be disciplined.

Coker said officials in her county didn't block the request at that end because "we felt that the Fulton County Jail was not an inappropriate destination for him to be." Harris had served time at Fulton previously, officials said.

He reported back to the Cobb jail early Friday, Coker said.

Fulton County Chairwoman Karen Handel, who has long been critical of Barrett, blasted the sheriff.

"You're going to have a video crew roaming around the jail? I don't understand why that was even remotely considered," Handel said.

Last week, a monitor released a report last week saying conditions at the crowded Fulton jail were becoming increasingly dangerous and unhealthy. There have also been a string of 10 escapes or accidental releases from the jail in the last 16 months.
http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp...Type=Printable

.

I was searching for something else, but in the meantime, i re-found this thread. It's now more than 2 years later, and the dude hasn't even gone to trial yet. For some reason, that's absolutely amazing to me. His attorney's have attempted to have him plead guilty and avoid the death penalty, but it doesn't look like the prosecution will take it.

This is a fairly big story down here, but from what I understand the lawyers have spent lots of money on his defense, but are completely out. And the state legislature passed something recently that caps money for criminal defense. Basically they are saying the trial is so big, they can't possibly afford to defend him, let alone what is required for the death penalty. I think he plead guilty to some, but there are still like 50 pending charges.

Seems pretty silly to pursue the death penalty when you won't give them adequate representation. Just let him plead guilty and sentence him to a bunch of life terms. He won't get out, it will probably cost taxpayers less in the long run, and it will be over.

All of that makes perfect sense, but the DA would be looking for another job.

This is why I'm anti-death penalty. Not because it's inhumane or anything, but because it costs us a ridiculous amount of money for a punishment that's really more lenient that the alternative.

I don't get why people get so worked up over giving someone death - why let him have the easy way out?

The zero percent recidivism rate has a strong appeal.

Can't that be accomplished with life without parole?

I don't know how many convicted murders ever end up committing more crimes. But it probably doesn't outweigh the number of murderers who were aquitted because a couple of members of the jury didn't want him killed.

Not without closing loopholes, and that's an inexact science at best.

See some examples at
http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/LWOP.htm

I think its high time we built a penal colony in the asteroid belt. Forced labor mining the belt for life!

dola, I am completely serious.

Texas would have already had this punk executed by now. The facts of the case, at least in regards to the first murder or 3, are in little doubt. For killing the judge alone, it should be an automatic death sentence. It's probably just some ploy from his crybaby lawyers to spend all his money this quickly. Then they can just appeal and say they didn't have enough cash, and hope to save this douchebags life. In cases like these, where there is so little to doubt, I can't believe justice takes so long.

Forced Labor for Life = far worse (meaning better for society) punishment that a gentle, quick execution.

They tried that, but it didn't work out so well for TV execs in the end.

Finally convicted of capital murder. Just heard it on the news.

Actually, just read this article today and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the death penalty thing is related to the same area of the brain. I'd never once doubted that many, many, many humans love watching others suffer and oh, it feels so much more ecstatic if you can throw on some righteous indignation to justify it; I mean, you don't really like it you know, it's just justice.

Sure it is.

Anyway, this is an interesting theory.


hwwp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081107-bully-brain.html

Jury still must decide if gunman is to be executed
By STEVE VISSER, JEFFRY SCOTT, RHONDA COOK

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday, November 07, 2008

Claudia Barnes stared expressionless, with a tissue in her hand, as she listened to the 54 verdicts announced at Brian Nichols’ murder trial Friday.

Her face stayed frozen until Superior Court Judge James Bodiford had announced “guilty” on the murder counts of her husband Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, his stenographer Julie Ann Brandau and Deputy Hoyt Teasley.

Then she smiled. It was 1,337 days since Nichols had escaped from custody at the Fulton County Courthouse and started the killing spree that rocked Georgia and the state’s judicial system until 26 hours later, when he surrendered in Gwinnett County.

The courtroom was silent except for the judge’s voice, the hum of the air conditioning and the muffled clicking of a news photographer’s camera.

Bodiford announced Nichols guilty on all counts, including the murder and robbery of David Wilhelm, an off-duty U.S. Customs agent, whom Nichols killed at a house the agent was building in Buckhead.

No one reacted — neither Nichols, his parents nor the family members of victims — during the verdicts. Bodiford had warned the audience that anyone displaying any emotion at all would be sentenced to 20 days in the Fulton County jail for contempt of court.

But after the victims’ families left the courtroom there were hugs and tears. None made any public comment, at the request of the District Attorney’s office.

Bodiford had been concerned that any displays of emotion could taint the second phase of the trial. The jury returns Monday to hear witnesses and evidence to decide whether Nichols should be executed or spend his life in prison.

“I do not believe we will be through by Thanksgiving,” Bodiford said.

The jury of six black women, two white women, two black men, one white man and one Asian man found Nichols guilty after 12 hours of deliberation and a trial that lasted 32 days, had 93 witnesses and nearly 1,200 pieces of evidence.

Nichols had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His case has transfixed the city, cost millions of dollars to prosecute and pay for Nichols’ defense and taken two judges to complete. Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller resigned in January and was replaced by Bodiford.

Bodiford moved the trial from the Fulton County Courthouse to the Atlanta Municipal Court building because the courthouse was the crime scene, where Nichols, while awaiting trial for rape, escaped a holding cell and went on his rampage.

The prosecution argued that Nichols was angry and seeking revenge on the judge. The defense argued that Nichols, 36, a former UNIX systems administrator who earned $80,000 a year, was suffering from a delusional compulsion, did not know right from wrong, and could not stop himself from being driven by the delusion.

Nichols considered launching a slave revolt against Fulton County, the state of Georgia, and the U.S. government, according to his attorneys and a defense psychologist. Jurors heard Nichols himself say so in a three-hour confession that was taped the day he was caught.

He said he considered Barnes his “slave master,” and all the people he killed enemy “combatants.”

Claudia Barnes was in the courtroom almost every day of the trial, taking notes. The other families also watched daily as often gripping and macabre evidence was introduced, including an audio recording of the shootings of Barnes and Brandau and the chilling screams of female staff attorney. Nichols displayed few emotions throughout, but his family at times appeared overwrought.

When the gunshots were played during the prosecution’s opening argument, his father Gene Nichols, left the courtroom. At times during her testimony, Nichols’ mother, Claritha Nichols, dabbed tears from her eyes.

Defense attorneys brought witness forward to testify how Nichol’s state of mind began deteriorating after a long-time girlfriend broke up with him and he was charged with raping her in August 2004.

Conditions in the Fulton County jail were so bad, they made his mental state even worse, a psychologist testified, to the point that, by the time he went on his spree, he was convinced he was a victim of a racist and unjust system.

The prosecution countered there wasn’t anything wrong with his mind. He was just angry and seeking revenge because he feared spending the rest of his life in prison for rape. And he was conniving liar who would do or say anything to get free.

The jury heard letters read between Nichols and a Connecticut woman, in which he laid out a scheme to escape from the Fulton County jail on Thanksgiving Day in 2006, and boasted how brilliant his plans were to catch guards sluggish after a big holiday meal.

He boasted that his trial would be in Fulton County where many were angry at the judicial system and if his lawyers picked the right jury he would be found not guilty. “My goal is a not guilty verdict,” he wrote. “All I need is the right people on the jury and I go home.”

In his closing argument Wednesday, prosecuting attorney Clint Rucker told the jury: “This defendant is a liar. He’s not mentally ill. He’s not delusional. He knows the difference between right and wrong. But he lies, he lies over and over and over again.”

|-|3 0B\/10U5L'/ |-|4D L337 35(4P3 5|<1LL5.

heh, i noted that too.

Heh, and the synchronicity of this...


is too much.

Four consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole for Nichols.

Judge gives courthouse killer life without parole - CNN.com

That is a horrifically written article. The copy editor who let that atrocity see the light of day should be strung up for treason against the English language.

There are just some people that deserve to die.

Sure they may have had a horrific childhood, chemical imbalance, whatnot etc. but some people just deserve to die.

Jeffrey Dahmer, the BTK serial killer etc.

It'll be interesting reading the juror comments in the next couple days.

Horrible waste of money. What the fuck do you have to do to get the death penalty these days. Geez

Amazing thing is, they could've saved all that money as he would've plead guilty to everything and taken life in prison, the same thing that he ended up getting. Was it really worth millions and potential failure, and even if was a guilty verdict, the next 20 years of appeals, just to make sure he eventually died by lethal injection? Silly.

Don't worry, the Federal government is about to spend millions more to try and get him executed. Howard wants U.S. to pursue Nichols death penalty | ajc.com

Absolutely ... if we had a decent chance at finding 12 people with enough sense to be on a jury.

Hopefully this will be the impetus to amend existing state law requiring unanimous sentencing verdicts in capital cases to only require a 10-2 vote.

Well, that's a tough bar these days, to find 12 people that all believe that way to vote 12-0. I just don't think it's worth the millions of dollars of money to defend him, and the money for the required appeals when the state is asking for budget cuts elsewhere. Like GATech being forced to cut budgets by 10% and reducing employer health care contributions by 25%.

But hey, for angry people like you, death for somebody who didn't affect your life in any way is more important I suppose.

The murder of a judge & several law enforcement personnel affects every life in the state.

As for the budget cuts, I've long favored the complete elimination of employer contributions to health care and as for the university system, I'd be shocked if there wasn't ample room to make cuts that should be made (whether those are the ones that will be made is a different matter).

The point is deterrence to prevent someone ELSE from affecting his or anyone else's life by putting massive consequences on this type of behavior.

But your point on money spent between this and his accepted appeal is a good one.

Heh, well of course there are cuts to be made. After all, in addition to teaching a bunch of Georgians, we can always ask faculty to do administrative asst work, clean floors, take care of buildings and grounds, etc. Because that's where budget cuts are coming from as people (at least in some states) tend to value education of their children enough to not cut faculty.

But as parents (or future parents) of children who are going through state education and might one day find a niche at Tech or similar state organization, I'd much rather money not get wasted on rain dances and capital punishment pursuits.

I rather see a person spend the rest of his life in jail than the death penalty. Always seemed like it's a tougher punishment in my eyes (unless your very old).

Do you really think anyone's ever refrained from murder because of a potential death sentence v. life in prison?

And do you really think that number is higher than the number of murderers who have gotten off COMPLETELY because a one or two jurors couldn't bring themselves to take someone's life?

It's a gigantic waste of money. And a huge strain on victims.

Here in Idaho, the Supreme Court has yet again ordered a re-sentencing of a murderer on death row. So the family of the victim, now close to a decade after the crime, have to do the whole thing all over again, with the victim impact statements, etc. Idaho still hasn't managed to execute anyone in 14 years. And state government employees are now being required to take mandatory unpaid time off because of budget problems, and layoffs are surely on the way.

And what's the point? So we can gently tie this guy down, and painlessly send him off to an everlasting nap? What the hell kind of punishment is that? With any luck, his natural death will be much more agonizing.

I'd much rather we not be wasting money on "students' who waste Hope money for nothing more than an extended vacation either, which in turn causes money to be wasted on both staffing & physical plant in the university system ... money which could be put to better use at GT (for example).

But I ain't holding my breath on that improvement either.

Agreed 100% with molson. I have no moral problem with taking someone's life as an ultimate punishment, but I continue to be against the death penalty because of a) what molson said and b) because it's not acceptable to make a mistake and put someone innocent of a crime to death (obviously not an issue in this particular case).

This. Total agreement. I used to be for the death penalty until I really got to know how completely inept, corrupt, and plain racists our justice system is. There is no way we should be putting anyone to death.

Watching a rebroadcast of an old story from 2013, hear the name Brian Nichols and remember this thread. Good times.

(Also, timestamp bug!)