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Attorneys for Brian Nichols, who was on trial for rape at the Fulton County Courthouse when he overpowered a deputy and shot four people during his effort to escape, have asked that his trial be moved to another courthouse, because the current one is the crime scene. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8 by Judge Hilton Fuller to hear motions to move the trial to a different courthouse... Nichols later surrendered after taking Ashley Smith hostage at her apartment and she convinced him to let her go and then called 9-1-1...

In the rearview mirror, objects often look smaller than they did when we passed them. Lots of people were thrown--or threw themselves--into the spotlight this year, many of whom we will never see again, unless they have shrewd publicists or the reality shows get desperate. But they can always think with fondness or remorse of 2005, when, for a while, theirs were the names on everyone's lips. JENNIFER WILBANKS Runaway bride must repay the city--but did she keep the Crock-Pot?DAISY WRIGHT The nanny broke up Jude Law and Sienna Miller, at least for now. Her real impact? More jobs for...

The story seemed too righteous to be true. Man kills four people. Man takes hostage and threatens to kill her. Hostage uses faith and the power of prayer to win her release and achieve a peaceful ending to a hopelessly violent situation. Only Ashley Smith, the Atlanta kidnap victim who captivated a nation with a stirring story of spiritual victory over physical adversity, left out one crucial detail.

We'll talk with Ashley Smith who became a heroine to millions of Americans when she was taken hostage by accused Fulton County Courthouse killer Brian Nichols. Smith tells the story of her life and her harrowing ordeal in her new book "Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero."

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Ashley Smith, the woman who says she persuaded suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols to release her by talking about her faith in God, discloses in a new book that she gave him methamphetamine during the hostage ordeal.

Ashley Smith frank about her flaws in new book She gave Brian Nichols meth to put alleged killer at ease By JENNIFER BRETT The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 09/27/05 Ashley Smith, the woman held hostage for hours after the March 11 Fulton County Courthouse shootings, reveals in a book released today that she gave alleged gunman Brian Nichols drugs on the night he held her captive. Smith, 27, was thrust into a national media spotlight after talking her way out of Nichols' captivity and then calling police. In "Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero," Smith shares...

She went out for cigarettes. That's my favorite detail of the story of Elizabeth Ashley Smith. This was not a noble calling; it wasn't even a noble errand. But the craving for nicotine at 2 o'clock in the morning led Smith into the loaded gun of one Brian Nichols, a man who had already raped one woman and murdered four men. Acccording to Smith, Nichols forced her into her apartment, tied her up, put her in the bathtub and told her "I'm not going to hurt you if you just do what I say." What would you do under those...

ATLANTA -- The woman who said she gained the trust of suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols by talking about her faith while he held her hostage was presented with $70,000 in reward money yesterday for helping authorities capture him. Ashley Smith, a 26-year-old widowed mother of one, was held for seven hours by Nichols at her suburban Atlanta home March 12 before he let her go. She then made the 911 call that led to his arrest.

One by one, various federal and state agencies handed former hostage Ashley Smith reward checks for her heroism and bravery that ended the hunt for a fugitive wanted in four separate murders. During a ceremony inside the state Capitol Thursday, law enforcement officials along with Gov. Sonny Perdue praised Smith, 26, for her actions after being taken hostage by courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols on March 12. "We never counted on Ashley Smith. We never took that into consideration but, Ashley, with your calm demeanor and handling of the situation, with your cool headed reasoning, you were able to overcome...

Ashley Smith (R), who was held hostage by Atlanta courthouse murder suspect Brian Nichols, smiles while receiving her reward money from Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (L) and other agencies which totalled $72,000 dollars at the Georgia State capitol in Atlanta, Georgia March 24, 2005. Smith lived in the Bridgewater apartments and talked Nichols into releasing her which led to his surrender in Duluth, Georgia on March 12, 2005. Nichols is a suspect in the Fulton county courthouse killings of a judge, a sheriff's deputy and a court clerk and a possible murder of a customs agent. REUTERS/Tami Chappell

ATLANTA - The woman who led authorities to suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols was presented with $70,000 in reward money Thursday. Ashley Smith, a 26-year-old widowed mother of one, was held hostage for seven hours by Nichols at her suburban Atlanta home March 12 before he let her go. She then made the 911 call that led to his arrest. "My life is testimony that God can use us even in the midst of tragedy and miracles do happen," she said. She was lauded at a ceremony during which she received a fistful of reward checks from Gov. Sonny Perdue...

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, evangelical superstar, Rick Warren in his first live prime time interview since that at heroic hostage, Ashley Smith read his best-seller, "The Purpose Driven Life" to the Atlanta courthouse killing suspect, Brian Nichols. Hours later, Nichols let her go and surrendered to police. What is "The Purpose Driven Life?" Pastor Rick Warren for the hour with your phone calls next on LARRY KING LIVE. He's just back from Africa, a return visit with Rick Warren, who has rapidly...

Americans are spellbound by the saga of Ashley Smith, the Atlanta woman held hostage by murder suspect Brian Nichols. Reporters covering the story are mystified over how anyone at the mercy of an escaped inmate—one who that very day killed another woman and three men—could remain so calm. The answer is that Smith had learned to trust God. During her ordeal, Smith—the widow of a murder victim who suffered much in her life—was able to enter into the suffering of her captor. She calmed him, and told him God just might have had a purpose in sending Nichols to her...

'The Purpose-Driven Life' has spread the ideas of a California preacher everywhere from the Chinese government to the hands of Fidel Castro. When ex-hostage Ashley Smith appeared on TV and told how she gained her freedom - and her captor's surrender - by reading to Brian Nichols from "The Purpose-Driven Life," her stirring story sent thousands off in search of the book. Author Rick Warren, though, didn't really need her help. His work was already the bestselling nonfiction hardback in US history. Since the book's release in October 2002, people apparently hungry for a clearer sense of purpose and direction...

Before Ashley Smith became America's newest darling by convincing alleged Atlanta courthouse killer Brian Nichols to surrender, her life was like a classic country-and-Western song - full of hard luck and heartache. Despair over being abandoned by her parents drove her to rebel against her strict Christian grandparents. Despair over her husband's murder drove her to drugs and alcohol. But faith gave Smith the strength to overcome her addictions and survive her seven-hour ordeal as Nichols' hostage. Now it appears that faith will be rewarded financially.

The lesson of Brian Nichols's last hostage. Friday, March 18, 2005 12:01 a.m. Americans are still spellbound by the saga of Ashley Smith, the young Atlanta widow held hostage by murder suspect Brian Nichols. Reporters covering the story seem mystified that anyone at the mercy of an escaped inmate--one who had that very day killed another woman and three men--could remain so calm.

Flannery O'Connor Country The amazing story of how Ashley Smith stopped Brian Nichols's killing spree. Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST Go to the link to see the pics Noonan found so inspiring.

NEW YORK - Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life," already a multimillion-selling spiritual guide, is even more in demand thanks to the book's role in resolving a hostage dilemma in Atlanta. A man originally arrested for rape, Brian Nichols, was captured Saturday after a 26-hour manhunt at an apartment complex where he had taken a woman hostage. The hostage, Ashley Smith, has said she helped persuade Nichols to free her by reading from Warren's 33rd chapter, "How Real Servants Act," which urges people to consider their talents and their purpose in life. Nichols is now accused of killing a judge...

Flannery O'Connor Country The amazing story of how Ashley Smith stopped Brian Nichols's killing spree. Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols were together for seven hours. This is Nichols's mug shot. This is Nichols's face after he gave himself up to police Saturday. Something changed. Something happened. This is from the transcript of Ashley Smith's testimony when she met with reporters in her lawyer's office on Sunday, March 13: It was about 2 o'clock in the morning...

The single mother who calmed Atlanta fugitive Brian Nichols as she was held hostage by the man charged with four murders and a rape, persuaded him to turn her loose and called 911 leading to his arrest has so far only been awarded $10,000 of $60,000 set aside as reward money for information leading to his capture. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue yesterday announced Ashley Smith would get the state's contribution to the bounty – $10,000 – but the FBI, sheriff's association and U.S. Marshall's office have still not announced who, if anyone, will get their contributions to the fund. "In...