Posted on 09/27/2005 10:11:33 AM PDT by Stone Mountain
Hostage Gave Meth to Atlanta Fugitive
By GREG BLUESTEIN Associated Press Writer
September 27,2005 | ATLANTA -- The woman who says she gained the trust of suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols by talking about her faith in God discloses in a new book that she gave him methamphetamine during the hostage ordeal.
Ashley Smith did not share that detail with authorities after she talked her way out of captivity.
In her book, "Unlikely Angel," released Tuesday, Smith says Nichols had her bound on her bed with masking tape and an extension cord. She says he asked for marijuana, but she did not have any, and dug into her crystal methamphetamine stash instead.
Smith, who has been in a mental hospital and has flunked out of drug rehabilitation programs, says the seven-hour hostage ordeal led her to stop using drugs. She says she has not touched drugs since the night before she was taken hostage.
"If I did die, I wasn't going to heaven and say, `Oh, excuse me, God. Let me wipe my nose, because I just did some drugs before I got here,'" Smith told the Augusta Chronicle.
Police said Nichols took Smith hostage in her apartment March 11 after a shooting rampage at the Fulton County Courthouse. Nichols is accused of killing four people, including a judge.
Smith's 911 call to police when she was released led authorities to Nichols. She said she read him passages from author Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life" to gain his trust.
She was later bombarded with offers for books, movies and speaking engagements.
Financial details of the book have not been released, but she pledged to donate an undisclosed portion of the book's proceeds to a memorial fund for the victims.
© 2005 The Associated Press.
Giving meth to a crazed killer was quite stupid. I don't condone that but she still saved lives.
Okay, Freeper Drug Warriors... Are you going to call on the Feds to prosecute this woman and have her thrown in the slammer for 25 years to life?
Good thing he didn't come to my house. Strongest thing he would have gotten was a shot of Nyquil!
Purpose Driven bump!
Sounds plausible
For what? Does she still have the drugs?
Well, at least some good did come out of it...
Just. Wow. Yeah, I don't know about giving an armed psycho meth, but whatever. Hopefully her story will get others off that stuff--it is NASTY.
Good thing he didn't come to my house. Strongest thing he would have gotten was a shot of Nyquil!At my house he woulda got a shot of copper-jacketed lead. >:)
-Eric
I think your offering would have kept him quiet longer that mine. ;)
This tarnishes the story a bit. But maybe she gained his trust. Who knows?
Yeah, but on the other hand, what else can she possibly say? Yes, I'm still using from time to time?
Friend of mine in New England befriended a sweet little 20 something. Turns out she's a heroin addict. Scary stuff.
Sounds like maybe she recieved more lasting therapy from that ordeal than she did in the mental hospital.
There is nothing like a dose of reality to find out what someone is capable of in a crisis situation.
She could say:
"Please buy my book to finance my addiction"
Think about it, there's a pretty big culture out there where a convict comes in and demands marijuana and they say sorry, all we have on hand is some crystal meth. Yikes!
Interesting. When confronted with killers, you can try using religion, but drugging them may be better. My preference would be to shoot 'em, but hey. To each their own.
Take it from someone who knows, meth addicts make the best liars.
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