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Insanity Plea In Court Slayings

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The Associated Press

Published: July 11, 2008

ATLANTA - The man accused of a courthouse shooting rampage that left four people dead pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday as his trial began amid high security, more than three years after prosecutors say he confessed in the killings.

Defense attorney Henderson Hill entered the plea for Brian Nichols a day after filing a motion saying Nichols was insane and could not tell "right from wrong" during the killings.

Even Nichols' defense team has conceded he killed a judge, court reporter and sheriff's deputy at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta on March 11, 2005, and a federal agent later that day.

The trial has faced a series of complications that have alternately astonished and outraged a community trying to close the books on the shootings that turned Fulton County's seat of justice into a crime scene.

Lawmakers outraged at a state-funded defense bill of at least $1.8 million have threatened to cut more funding. Nichols has been accused of plotting an escape. Defense attorneys claim a prosecutor committed crimes of her own. And the district attorney sued the presiding judge, who later stepped down.

Also, there is still uncertainty about where the trial will be held. Jury selection began in the same courthouse as the shootings, but defense attorneys have long urged that the case be heard in another building in the county, out of fairness to their client.

The new judge, James Bodiford, said Thursday that he was moving the trial to another location within 10 days, but did not specify where. Bodiford, who took over the case in February, has vowed to keep the case on track, rebuffing an attempted delay by Nichols' attorneys.

"One thing I must do in this case is justice," Bodiford said. "But secondly, I must be efficient, if I can."

Attorneys began screening the first batch of dozens of potential jurors in hopes of finding a pool of 100 qualified people. From them, 18 jurors will be selected - 12 jurors and six alternates.
Legal experts say finding a fair jury to decide one of the most notorious cases in modern Atlanta history could be the trickiest task, and the first pool seemed to reinforce the dilemma. Eleven of the 16 potential jurors raised their hands when asked if they have formed an opinion about the case.

The jurors watched a 37-minute video describing the 54 counts against Nichols, who sat silently with his eyes downcast as it was played. About a dozen deputies and security officers in khaki vests roamed the courtroom, and each visitor was first screened by a deputy waving a metal detector.

The trial could last for months. As many as 600 witnesses could be called, and written evidence runs to the thousands of pages.

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