Brian Nichols

Brian Gene Nichols (born December 10, 1971) is an American former college football player known for the March 11, 2005 Fulton County Courthouse shootings and subsequent escape in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time of the courthouse shootings, Nichols was being retried on rape and other charges after his first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Following his escape from custody, a large-scale manhunt was launched throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area, and Nichols was taken into custody approximately 26 hours later. In 2008, Nichols was tried on 54 charges arising from the courthouse shootings, escape, and related events. He was found guilty on all 54 counts on November 7, 2008, including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, hijacking a motor vehicle, and escape, and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.