On March 11, 2005 Brian Nichols killed several people during an escape from custody at Atlanta’s Fulton County Courthouse. He ultimately forced his way into Ashley Smith's apartment. In an unexpected move, after more than 7 hours of being held hostage, Nichols allowed her to leave her complex upon her claim to visit her daughter. Smith took the opportunity to dial local authorities who summoned the Gwinnett County, Georgia, S.W.A.T. team, who eventually arrested him upon an uneventful surrender.
During her ordeal, Smith read to Nichols from the Bible and from Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life. She also cooked him pancakes and gave him crystal methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant, from her personal supply, although she maintains that she did not use the drug along with him. Smith later revealed "that she had been struggling with a methamphetamine addiction when she was taken hostage, and the drug problem had even led to time spent in a psychiatric hospital and the loss of custody of her 5-year-old daughter."[3] Smith said the last time she used crystal 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.” Smith also revealed that she had “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.’
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