ATLANTA – The woman who says she gained the trust of suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols (search) by talking about her faith in God discloses in a new book that she gave him methamphetamine during the hostage ordeal.
Ashley Smith (search) did not share that detail with authorities after she talked her way out of captivity.
In her book, "Unlikely Angel," released Tuesday, Smith says Nichols had her bound on her bed with masking tape and an extension cord. She says he asked for marijuana, but she did not have any, and dug into her crystal methamphetamine (search) stash instead.
Smith, who has been in a mental hospital and has flunked out of drug rehabilitation programs, says the seven-hour hostage ordeal led her to stop using drugs. She says she has not touched drugs since the night before she was taken hostage.
"If I did die, I wasn't going to heaven and say, `Oh, excuse me, God. Let me wipe my nose, because I just did some drugs before I got here,"' Smith told the Augusta Chronicle.
Police said Nichols took Smith hostage in her apartment March 11 after a shooting rampage at the Fulton County Courthouse. Nichols is accused of killing four people, including a judge.
Smith's 911 call to police when she was released led authorities to Nichols. She said she read him passages from author Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life" to gain his trust.
She was later bombarded with offers for books, movies and speaking engagements.
Financial details of the book have not been released, but she pledged to donate an undisclosed portion of the book's proceeds to a memorial fund for the victims.
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