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More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 12:40:53 PM EST
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Additional mistakes by law enforcement are coming to light in Friday's Atlanta courthouse shootings:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday that a courthouse surveillance camera recorded Nichols' initial surprise attack on Deputy Cynthia Hall but that no one in the control center noticed the assault.

"It's not just horrible, it was preventable," Senior Superior Court Judge Philip Etheridge told the newspaper. A video camera that is supposed to be monitored by two guards in a command post shows Nichols lunging at Hall and knocking her backward, according to a law enforcement official who saw the tape.

Etheridge said Hall, a petite 51-year-old, should not have been alone with Nichols, a former college linebacker who had been found with two sharpened door hinges in his socks earlier in the week.

From all the interview segments I've seen of hostage Ashley Smith, it sounds like she will be a good mitigation witness for Nichols. That's good news for the lawyers who will be trying to save his life.

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    • More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs | 25 comments (25 topical)
    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 12:56:59 PM EST
    From what Smith is saying, it sounds like Nichols found God in the 24 hours after he killed those people. Good for him. Hopefully he'll get to meet God, soon.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 01:00:51 PM EST
    ()but of course since there's no question to his quilt a trial is unnecessary, GA up there with TX as far as executing citizens goes. we should just move to the death penalty appeal process, saves time and money.() what does society gain by keeping this individual alive? their humanity!

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 01:06:12 PM EST
    Hopefully he'll get to meet God, soon.
    thats mighty christian of you, yet a female in direct danger sought to end the killing, of all peoples. yeah, i'd say that's mighty christian of you to wish for his demise, about par.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 01:38:43 PM EST
    Hey the cops got the guy alive, but the system won't, anyway remember never-never kill a judge, but what did he do wrong? as far as the system cares its ok to kill woman, cops who are woman but never shot a judge. the system in the state is really sad, the jail system has killed more people in 10 years then the prison system, and that is saying a-lot.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 01:41:56 PM EST
    Fred: Back up your semi-literate statement with a link, please.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 01:56:13 PM EST
    I'm not a big fan of the death penalty because juries often convict the wrong person. I don't think that's going to happen here. I'm pretty liberal, but the death penalty in this case would get a shrug from me. For the record, I'm not a christian. I believe he'll rot in the ground just like everyone else.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 02:13:23 PM EST
    and he did not overpower the deputy simply because she was a woman and a grandma and the news media that keeps harping on that issue is full of crap apparently the layout of walk to the court rom also caused problems --he needed to be in his courtroom dress before seeing the jury and they were assembled on his path to the courtroom. It's a terrible horrible event and the woman who turned him in showed remarkable courage and wisdom in a scary situation. Unfortunately people shoot each other in this country everyday - and they all were probably preventable at some point if someone was paying attention.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#8)
    by roy on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 02:16:41 PM EST
    Smith's experience worked out well for her, but it's not what I'd call "mitigating". So Nichols doesn't rape or kill everyone he takes hostage. (I know the rape charge hasn't been proven; my sarcasm stands) Some news network had a call-in segment asking whether judges should be allowed to carry guns in court a few days ago; anybody want to weigh in?

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 02:28:27 PM EST
    Roy, that's not why she'd be a good mitigation witness. It's because she describes him as doing something he regretted, something out of character. She describes his actions as a reaction to the frustration that had built up in him during the rape re-trial. He told her he didn't commit the rape. She clearly views him as a human being. All human lives have value, the difficulty in this case will be in getting the jury to get beyond the horrific nature of the crimes and to see Nichols as a human being. She will help them do that.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#10)
    by Rich on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 02:31:27 PM EST
    Fulton County's Sherriff's Department, which I assume oversees the marshalls has had scandal after scandal and well-documented problems in providing competent service to defendants, the community, etc. The new sheriff is a big improvement, but I am sure much needs to be done. THese screw-ups may help action to occur.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#11)
    by roy on Mon Mar 14, 2005 at 02:49:03 PM EST
    TL, I think I see your point about showing Nichols as a thinking, feeling, human being. But if he killed out of frustration from his interactions with the law, doesn't that reinforce that he is too dangerous to ever interact with society? I'm pretty much opposed to the death penalty, but if we're going to kill criminals, then criminals who commit multiple murders out of frustration and leave iron-clad (from a TV viewer's perspective) evidence seem like the right ones.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 12:42:38 AM EST
    Yep, He's due all the rights of the Constitution and due process. It may take weeks, perhaps a year or more. But as sure as they sell grits in Waffle House the man is going to fry. This was in all likelihood a pre meditiated act on several levels. I say he'll be lucky to see out Bush's term here in Ga. (Yeah, I know we no longer use 'ol sparky, and that's a good thing...)

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#15)
    by Richard Aubrey on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 05:07:22 AM EST
    Most of us don't kill. People who do can be considered as more likely to do so (again) than others. Keeping this guy in prison for life, which is TL's implied solution (bet TL wouldn't be calling for release after, say, five years?)means that the state will have to be one hundred percent competent in housing him, getting it right every time, or somebody else may die. The state has to get it right every time, Nichols only has to spot one flaw, and somebody dies. This guy shot people who had nothing to do with his rape trial. BTW, in order for this to make it to the usual litany of state-sponsored injustice, he'll have to be innocent of rape. Whether he is, or not, I mean. If it weren't for being railroaded for rape, this whole thing wouldn't have happened..... That means savaging yet another woman's credibility.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 05:59:35 AM EST
    posted by talkleft herself:
    all human lives have value
    ...except the unborn ones...sorry to be off topic.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 07:47:28 AM EST
    Outside, Whatever gave you the idea I was a christian?

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 08:13:39 AM EST
    "Posted by LCA at March 15, 2005 06:59 AM posted by talkleft herself: all human lives have value ...except the unborn ones...sorry to be off topic." Cool, dude! You countered your own argument! 'Unborn ones' aren't even people!

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 08:51:17 AM EST
    Strange...and wrong. I obviously don't believe the unborn are not people. Sorry I opened the door. Nice use of exclamation points though! You read so happy-sarcastic.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 09:13:51 AM EST
    Whatever gave you the idea I was a christian?
    didn’t say or imply your were christian, acknowledged your comment as being "mighty christian" (sarcastically), that would be having christian like qualities/character (whatever that is), one could actually be atheist or at least agnostic, and display similiar traits, but of course you know this.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#21)
    by kdog on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 09:37:09 AM EST
    I see a vast over-reaction coming.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 11:45:50 AM EST
    Outside, Still having trouble differentiating between reality and your own fevered imagination I see. Have a nice day.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 12:24:42 PM EST
    As an Atlanta area criminal defense lawyer, I was offended to the core by the shootings last week. Yet I have opposed the death penalty for years and still do, even in Nichols' case - even after he killed one of our area's absolute fairest judges in criminal cases. Ms. Smith's intervention in this man's sociopathy demonstrated the potential we have to fight violence with understanding and recapture value in lives gone sour. What she did was not a miracle, it was psychology. Nichols will face the death penalty in Georgia and he will get a very good lawyer. Georgia recently centralized its death representation, which is now under the management of Mike Mears, who is very capable. The Georgia Innocence Project freed its second person this year on DNA evidence. We are not all rednecks.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#24)
    by jen on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 03:19:33 PM EST
    Interestingly, the consensus around the courthouse yesterday was that the state would plead Nichols out to life in prison. But I'm inclined to agree with everyone else who think he'll get the death penalty. The city wants blood.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 03:35:24 PM EST
    I find it difficult to disagree with previous d.p. posters who would say that if the state is determined to execute murders and the like, it should do so only when guilt is proven beyond ANY doubt, a heightened standard of proof which would at least all but eliminate execution of the factually innocent. I also tend to agree that if a state is going to kill a citizen, it should do so in public, not behind closed doors. So, if ever there were a case. ...

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#26)
    by roy on Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 04:36:54 PM EST
    I also tend to agree that if a state is going to kill a citizen, it should do so in public, not behind closed doors. So, if ever there were a case. ...
    I don't want to facilitate the intersection of our Reality TV culture and public executions. Spike TV would run cutesy animations showing how the electricity bolts travel through the brain, and computer enhancements of what it would look like without the hood, and cheerleaders picture-in-picture counting down 'til midnight. Having victims, family members, and journalists as witnesses at closed-door executions will have to do.

    Re: More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Mar 16, 2005 at 11:56:28 AM EST
    "It's not just horrible, it was preventable," Yep...he should have at least had handcuffs on! Of course you libs would have been screamimg about his "rights". But that's ok... 4 people would still be alive. roy... you critisize this statmentfrom rw... if a state is going to kill a citizen, it should do so in public, not behind closed doors But if you think about it... the claim for capital punshment is deterence...right? Well why not show it on TV? Let the people (who might do this) know that this is your fate if you get caught & convicted. Reading about it in the paper isn't good enough. It should be a "scared straight" type thing (if you're old enough to remember that?)if you really want to say it's suppose to be a deterent.

    More Mistakes Friday by Atlanta Sheriffs | 25 comments (25 topical)