Brian Nichols, Confessed Courthouse Killer, gets Life Without Parole, Mutters "I'm Sorry"

Well, I am this horrible chapter has come to a close for Atlantans. Superior Court Judge James Bodiford sentenced confessed courthouse murderer Brian Nichols to life without parole for the 2005 murders of a judge, court reporter, sheriff's deputy and federal agent. No-one will have to deal with this nutjob again. Judge Bodiford handed down maximum sentences on a myriad of other charges in the case, to run consecutively.

"If there was any more I could give you, I would," the judge said. Brian Nichols said "I am sorry" in front of a packed courtroom Saturday morning after avoiding the death penalty. "And I just wanted to say that I will not bring dishonor to the decision to spare my life," added Nichols.

"We are deeply saddened with this verdict. We lost a very vital person in our family. The defendant had no mercy on the lives of those killed, but yet his life was spared. I always say, if you don't like the punishment, then don't do the crime," said Deborah Teasley, widow of Deputy Hoyt Teasley. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

I think that death would be too easy. He needs to suffer for the rest of his life in the big house. They should decorate his prison cell with pictures of each of the victims.

Bodiford stepped in Saturday morning to decide whether the 37-year-old would spend life in prison with the possibility of parole or life in prison without parole after jurors told the judge they could not reach a unanimous decision on Nichols' punishment. The jury, split 9-3, said Friday night it "reached a stage where further deliberations will not change an opinion." Prosecutors had asked the jury to sentence Nichols to death. Under Georgia law, a death sentence must be a unanimous jury decision.

"We're sorry and we'll continue to pray for the victims' families," said Brian Nichols' mother. "We hope they can find some peace and healing."Source: AJC

If you recall, Brian Nichols literally had everyone in Atlanta scared to death. I remember when I saw the manhunt on television I was scared to drive to work. At the time I worked a 3pm to midnight shift on Mondays and Fridays. Nichols was on trial for rape when he beat a deputy guarding him and stole her gun. He burst into the courtroom and shot and killed Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau and Teasley.

What was scary was that he fled downtown Atlanta on foot and managed to evade hundreds of police officers searching for him overnight. In Atlanta's affluent Buckhead neighborhood, he shot and killed federal agent David Wilhelm at a house the agent was renovating.

Nichols was captured the next day in suburban Gwinnett County after Ashley Smith Robinson, alerted police to his whereabouts. Smith Robinson was credited with bringing a peaceful ending to the rampage by appealing to Nichols' religious beliefs and giving him illegal drugs.

Nichols, who was raised in Baltimore, confessed to the killings but claimed he was legally insane and that he believed he was a slave rebelling against his masters. Prosecutors argued that he concocted the delusions to avoid the death penalty. AJC

I am glad that this nutjob is off the streets and will not terrorize anyone again. What was troubling was why in the world one deputy transported him to the court. She was of small stature and easy to overpower. This will be a lesson to law enforcement to take all possibilities into consideration. He should have been surrounded by deputies because they found a shank in his shoe. This man's intentions were vile and unfortunately, people lost their lives as a result of his actions.