Jury still can't decide shooter's fate

What will be the most expensive criminal trial in Georgia history is still going on, as jurors wrap up day three deliberating whether Brian Nichols should die or spend life in prison. Nichols was convicted of 54 counts associated with a March 2005 shooting spree that started at the Fulton County Courthouse and ended with four people dead. Yesterday the jury told the judge they were split over how to sentence Nichols, and asked to review evidence. If they don't reach a decision tomorrow they will continue deliberations tomorrow.

House votes to change death penalty law

The state House voted yesterday to grant judges the ability to impose the death penalty, even if a jury does not unanimously endorse the punishment. Current state law forbids the death penalty if one or more jurors disapprove of the sentence in a case.

The move divided Georgia’s Republican legislators. GOP sponsors of the bill say the change will prevent convicted murders from avoiding the death penalty because of a sole dissenter. GOP opponents warned that putting life-or-death decisions in the hands of one judge jeopardizes fairness and justice.

House members voted 112-55 to pass the measure. It is the chamber's second attempt to change the law in as many years.

Nichols judge reprimands jury evaders

A Fulton County judge has issued arrest warrants for potential jurors in the Brian Nichols' case who ignored a summons to appear in court today.

Judge Hilton Fuller summoned sixty citizens for evading jury duty; more than half didn't show up for the hearing today. He told those that did show up they had two options: either plead guilty to contempt of court and pay a $200 fine or plead not guilty and return for a hearing.

Either way, everyone's name goes back into the Nichols' jury pool.

“It makes no difference to me whether you acknowledge it or not," said Judge Fuller. "Everybody here is a prospective juror no matter what announcements you’ve given me."

Those who pleaded guilty were fined $200 and will have a misdemeanor for contempt of court on record. For those who pleaded not guilty, a hearing is set for September 5.

Brian Nichols is charged with killing four people while trying to escape from the Fulton County Courthouse in March 2005. His long-awaited trial had been delayed for lack of defense funding. It is now scheduled for September 10.

Judge in courthouse killing case goes after jurors

An Atlanta judge is going after potential jurors who failed to show up for screening in the case of accused courthouse killer Brian Nichols.

DeKalb County Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller has sent letters to 60 people who missed their appointments. The letters order the AWOL jury candidates to show up at the Fulton County Courthouse on July 19 to explain why they skipped out on jury duty.

If they do not show up, the letter says, a sheriff's deputy will serve them a contempt citation.

"You should be aware that an unexplained failure to appear may be punished in the form of a fine and/or jail service time," Fuller's letter states.

Those 60 candidates are just a small fraction of the 2,800 potential jurors summoned to fill out questionnaires in the case. Nichols' death penalty trial is scheduled to begin in September. He is accused of killing a sitting judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and a federal agent in 2005. The overwhelming attention to the crimes has made it harder to select qualified, unbiased jurors.