Atlanta courthouse reopens

ATLANTA — Nervous workers and visitors lined up Monday as the Fulton County Courthouse reopened under heightened security in the wake of the slayings of a judge, deputy and court reporter three days earlier.

As the courthouse reopened at 8:30 a.m. Monday — almost exactly 72 hours since the shootings — at least 80 people waited in line to get past a security checkpoint set up inside the building. The line snaked down a hallway near the entrance.

The suspected gunman, Brian Nichols, was taken into custody Saturday morning after holding a woman hostage in Gwinnett County for several hours, then freeing her. The woman, Ashley Smith, came forward Sunday to give an account of her ordeal, saying he let her go after they bonded while discussing God, family, pancakes and the massive manhunt going on outside her apartment.

Michael Harris, 58, who was reporting to the courthouse for jury duty, said he felt safer knowing Nichols was behind bars.

"To me, it was one of those unusual things," said Harris. "At any time, terrible things can happen anywhere. You just have to put your faith in God and keep on going."

However, convicted felon Richard Jadwin, 20, who was there to check in with the sheriff's department, said he felt uncomfortable being at the building.

"There's no guarantees in life. You can't know what a person's next move is going to be. I ain't even going to lie, I'm kind of nervous," said Jadwin, who wouldn't say what crime he was convicted of.

He said more precautions should have been taken with Nichols. Authorities said the rampage started when Nichols overpowered a sheriff's deputy who was transporting Nichols to a holding area to prepare for the resumption of his trial on rape and other charges.

Crime-scene tape and flowers greeted those who stepped off the elevators in front of the courtroom of Judge Rowland Barnes, which is where Barnes and his court reporter, Julie Brandau, were killed. Both Barnes and Brandau had been working Nichols' trial, which had started Tuesday. Sheriff's Sgt. Hoyt Teasley was killed outside the courthouse, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent David Wilhelm was killed later.

Smith was hailed as a hero for the way she handled herself after Nichols stopped her in the parking lot of her apartment when she returned from a store around 2 a.m. Saturday.