Ashley Smith

Biography

On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichol escaped from the Fulton County Courthouse in Georgia, stole a gun and killed four people. That evening, he forced his way into Ashley Smith's apartment and took her hostage for seven hours. Smith made headlines for talking the infamous Atlanta courthouse killer into surrendering peacefully by gaining his confidence through her prayers and by reading aloud passages from Rick Warren's A Purpose Driven Life. In 2015, the minute-by-minute tale of her experience with Nichol, juxtaposed with the tragedies and triumphs of her own life, were recounted in the nonfiction book Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage. The same year, the book was adapted into a movie title Captive starring Kate Mara.