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Supreme Court Denies Plea to Reinstate Feeding Tube; Ashley Smith Rewarded for Role in Capturing Shooting Suspect; Pope Misses Holy Week Ceremonies
Aired March 24, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: The Supreme Court decides to deny her parents' request. What is next for Terri Schiavo? We're live with the latest.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Purpose-driven cash? A hero gets her financial thank you for a city grateful that she stopped a killing spree with spirituality. Live pictures now. We'll take it when it happens.
O'BRIEN: And live pictures of the Last Supper Mass at St. Peter's. The pope may be saving his strength, but the faithful are celebrating. We're live from Rome.
Faithful fans of the latest gadgets hold onto your seats. Get a good look at the do-it-all fun machine, the portable PlayStation.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Kyra Phillips.
O'BRIEN: From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. It is Thursday, March 24, and CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
We're waiting for word from a Florida judge on a last-ditch move aimed at keeping Terri Schiavo alive. The brain damaged woman has gone without nutrition for almost a week now. And her parents say time is running out.
Today, they lost another bid to have their daughter's feeding tube reattached, this one at the U.S. Supreme Court. And that's where we find CNN's Kathleen Koch -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the Schindlers knew that, certainly, making this last ditch appeal to the Supreme Court was a long shot. They had tried to get the court to take their daughter's case four times in the past, two most recently this past week, and they had failed every time. But again, they wanted to make the effort.
Now, the emergency filing right around 11 p.m. last night went to Justice Anthony Kennedy. He is the justice on the Supreme Court who does have responsibility for cases that emanate from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
As expected then, late last night, he did refer to the full nine member court, all nine justices. And so it was for roughly some 11 1/2 hours that the justices considered the merit of the appeal. And finally, around 10:30 this morning, that they declined to hear the appeal, declined to step in, to have Terri Schiavo's feeding tube inserted.
Now, the justices did not reveal what their final vote was on the case, nor did they explain their rationale behind this final decision.
Now, of course, reaction on this has come very swiftly. First of all, from attorneys for Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo. One of them saying, quote, "The status quo today is that Mrs. Schiavo is exactly where she would want to be: she has been released from unwanted, intrusive medical procedures according to her wishes. Preservation of the status quo would allow her to die in peace, and to maintain her dignity and autonomy."
Also, much reaction coming from the U.S. Congress, which, as you'll recall, intervened over the weekend, something very unprecedented, taking the action to basically give federal courts jurisdiction over this one case, give Terri Schiavo's parents the chance to appeal her case to a federal court.
And one of those who was very obviously instrumental in the congressional intervention was Senator Bill Frist, not only Senate majority leader but a physician himself. And his reaction is, quote, "I'm saddened by the decision of the court to reject Terri Schiavo's case for life despite a compelling case for reexamination of the medical evidence. It is a sad day for her loving family and their innocent and voiceless daughter."
And, Miles, right here at the Supreme Court, there has not been a great deal of reaction. There are very few protesters. Only about 10 of them lined up standing silently in front of the court with red tape over their mouths that reads -- has "life" written on the red tape. But those same protesters in that same number were here on Monday, as well -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Kathleen Koch, on the steps of the Supreme Court, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Miles. Live pictures right now from the state capitol here in Atlanta, Georgia.
You're looking at Ashley Smith right now as she's about to receive $65,000 in reward money. You'll remember Ashley Smith. She is the one that spent almost a 24-hour period with the courthouse shooting suspect, Brian Nichols, reading "The Purpose Driven Life" and the Bible to him in what police believe was a pretty emotional time together that led to the stop of that shooting spree.
Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... a lot of law enforcement departments, agencies, and officers were there to try to find our suspect. We were really concerned, and everybody in the room was concerned that if we did find him, taken into regard the violence that we had already expected, or seen that day, we expected it to be a major problem and difficulty.
But come Saturday morning, we received word from the Gwinnett County Police Department that he had been surrounded and had, at that point had given up. He quit. Something that none of us expected. We did expect a fight and we did expect -- either that or suicide. None of those things occurred.
We never counted on Ashley Smith. We never took that into consideration. But Ashley, with your calm demeanor and handling of the situation, with your cool-headed reasoning, you were able to overcome a very serious situation. And we want to say thank you.
And on behalf of the U.S. Marshal Service, I want to present this check to you $25,000. You deserve it. You earned it.
One more thing. We want to give you a plaque. I'm sure you'll not forget this day. But we'd like to -- for you to remember. It says "Presented to Ashley Smith for your bravery and will in the face of extreme danger and difficulty. Because of your strong ford attitude and resilience to overcome a life-threatening situation, a dangerous fugitive was brought to justice. The United States Marshal Service commends you, March 12, 2005."
Thank you, Ashley. We appreciate it. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon. I'm Deputy Chief Pete Andriessen (ph) with the Atlanta Police Department, criminal investigation division.
And on behalf of Mary Shirley Franken, the city council of Atlanta, Chief Richard Pennington and Assistant Chief Richard Dreyer (p), we would like to thank and commend Miss Ashley Smith, using the Atlanta Police Department motto, answering the call. We feel like Miss Smith answered the call and did her duty well.
We'd like to present her with a check for $5,000. We'd also like to thank and commend the other law enforcement agencies and city units that worked with us.
Thank you.
SHERIFF TOM SMITH, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Thank you very much. My name is Tom Smith and I'm the sheriff of Washington County, Georgia. And I'm also the president of the Georgia Sheriff's Association.
On behalf of every sheriff of the state of Georgia, I would like to present to you a check for $5,000 for the apprehension of Brian Nichols. You re definitely a blessed person and a child of God. All of the sheriffs appreciate your courage, your strength, and your perseverance.
May God continue to bless you and your family. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Frank Vincent Rotundo (ph). I'm the executive director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. I will not be presenting Ashley with a check today. We sent that check last week. We felt that she probably could use it.
Ashley, I wanted to tell you that I represent an organization that has 1,200 members, 562 of them being police chiefs, a very worthwhile organization. I looked at the words that my predecessors said. Their very important words.
But what I remember most about the capture of Brian Nichols was a clip I saw on television of your grandfather with tears in his eyes. I saw your grandfather talk a little bit about how you were able to use your communication skills in conjunction with, essentially, your religious and spiritual upbringing, which made you essentially do the right thing.
And that's really why we're here today. Ashley did the right thing.
So on behalf of all professional law enforcement people, as well as the citizens of the state of Georgia, and of this nation, I do commend you personally.
I have one more remark before I step aside. Ashley, it is our true wish, since we believe in education and training, that you take a little bit of that money and put it towards your education, as I'm sure you're swearing that you will do.
With that in mind, thank you, Ashley. And I'm an old Italian, so the custom is to say good-bye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon. My name is Carlton Stallings (ph). I am the state president of the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police.
On behalf of the Georgia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police and more than 300,000 members throughout this nation, please accept our sincere appreciation for your actions on March the 12th that led to the apprehension of Brian Nichols and put it end to one of Atlanta's most tragic events.
While you did not choose to be placed in a life-threatening situation, you met the challenge and diffused the potential for more violence. So on behalf of the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police, it is with great pleasure that I present you with this check for $5,000 and wish you success in life. Thank you.
GOV. SONNY PERDUE (R), GEORGIA: Ashley is just stacking the checks up here. You know, now it's my turn to make a presentation on behalf of the state of Georgia, Ashley, and on behalf of all of our citizens of Georgia.
On March 11, I announced a state reward of $10,000 for leading to the apprehension of a suspect in the courthouse shootings, Brian Nichols. As we all know and as we've heard recounted here today, in the early hours of March the 12th, Ashley Smith was held hostage in her home by Mr. Nichols and ultimately persuaded him to release her unharmed. And then she notified police of his whereabouts.
I don't need to refresh all the facts here again today. But I do want to comment on one fact that strikes me as most important about the events of that night, as told by Ashley. And it's a role that Ashley's faith played in her survival and bringing the situation to a peaceful end.
Trapped in her home with a dangerous killer, Ashley won trust through her humanity and her compassion. She talked about her late husband and her love for her daughter. And she talked about her faith. And she read aloud from the book "The Purpose Driven Life" that discusses God's plan for each of us in our lives.
And with her words and by her actions through these long, frightful hours, she pierced a murderer's heart, his hardened heart. She led him to see what he had begun in anger could not go on and that it was time to put down his weapon, time to let her go, and time to surrender to justice.
Any one of us -- any one of us would have been frightened to have found ourselves in that situation, trapped alone in our home with a killer. But Ashley was not alone with Mr. Nichols. Because of her faith, there was someone else there with her to give her the words and the courage and the strength to do what she did.
Ashley has stated that she believes Brian Nichols was led to her door that night so that she could bring the rampage to an end. That is a strong testament of her faith, and that's what I see as the most important thing to know about her and the events of that night.
So Ashley, on behalf of the people of Georgia, I am pleased to present this check to you for $10,000 and invite you to say a few words here today. Thank you very much.
ASHLEY SMITH, FORMER HOSTAGE: First of all, I want to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, for his love and his grace. I would not be standing here without him today.
The outpouring of support I've received from family members, friends, the city of Atlanta, my hometown Augusta, the state of Georgia and the entire nation, have been overwhelming and, at the same time, humbling for me.
Throughout this journey, I have felt your prayers, and your prayers have sustained and strengthened me. Yes, my life has changed, but that is a small fraction compared to all the families that lost loved ones during these tragic events earlier in the month. My heart goes out to all the families of those that are still mourning.
My life is a testimony that God can use us, even in the midst of tragedy, and that miracles do happen. The hope of the Easter season is my hope. Thank you for your support and continued prayers as I strive to honor God's purpose for my life. May God bless you all.
PERDUE: I want to thank all of our law enforcement community representatives...
PHILLIPS: I don't know about you, but I felt like I was sitting in church there, just a couple days early, listening to Ashley Smith as she received all the reward money after sitting down, one-on-one, with Brian Nichols, the alleged shooting suspect, as you know, that left four people dead here in an Atlanta courthouse and elsewhere.
Governor Sonny Perdue there, governor of Georgia, ending, wrapping up a special ceremony. You heard from the FBI, the marshals department, the Georgia Sheriffs Association, Georgia Association Chief of Police, Fraternal Order of Police, and then, an additional surprise, another $5,000 from the Atlanta Police Department. A total of $70,000 Ashley Smith has received in reward money.
She received plaques, cash obviously, and so many accolades, being called from "a child of God" to "a brave and courageous soul."
Ashley Smith now wrapping up that ceremony once again, like she did with Brian Nichols, talking about her faith and the power that God gave her to do what she did.
Now, police say also that Ashley Smith used food and faith to calm Brian Nichols. But they may have shared an even deeper bond. Like Nichols, Smith knew what it was like to wrestle is demons. Smith was a widowed, single mother trying to start fresh after a rocky pass.
Our Sharon Collins has this that profile and a piece that originally aired on CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," talking about Ashley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was a good student and a standout athlete at Augusta Christian. She had been baptized and pledged her life to God. But Ashley Copeland's teenage years were not easy ones.
Her pastor, Frank Page, counseled her during those years.
REV. FRANK PAGE, SMITH'S FORMER PASTOR: There were times of teenage rebellion. There were times when she would move away from the Lord and be rebellious to authority, just like most teenagers do.
COLLINS: Ashley's first brush with the law came when she was 16, still in high school. A shoplifting conviction for stealing a shirt from the local Macy's.
PAGE: I think her faith has always been real since she was a teenager. But faith for many of us, in fact, probably most, all people, sometimes has -- it has an ebb and flow. And she went through some tough times, some dark times, where I don't think her faith was very strong, certainly wasn't strong enough.
COLLINS: Ashley's rebelliousness led to more charges. There was an arrest for underage drinking. She lasted just one quarter at a local college before dropping out.
Her stepfather at the time, Larry Croft, says that Ashley was a good kid would started hanging out with the wrong people, that she started drinking and using drugs. Croft and Ashley were close, even though he says she didn't always appreciate the tough love he and her mother tried to impose on her.
When her life looked like it was getting out of control, he put her to work in his water purification business.
LARRY CROFT, SMITH'S STEPFATHER: She can do anything. The child's a brilliant, brilliant child. She would do things like bookkeeping, answering the phone, helping me with my closing sales calls, thing like that.
COLLINS: Ashley met a young man, Daniel Smith, Mac, who was trying to overcome his own troubled past.
CROFT: She saw him and said, "I'm going to marry that man." And sure enough, they ended up getting married. It was tumultuous at first, and then it began to level out, because he started basically listening to her. And I could see the change in him.
COLLINS: The leveling out, Croft says, began after Ashley and Mac Smith's daughter, Paige, was born five years ago.
CROFT: He had started his business. I had helped him get his business started. And they were doing quite well, as a matter of fact. And as a matter of fact, they had gotten a whole new coterie of friends, and that's really what preceded the problem the night he was killed.
COLLINS: The circumstances of that night remain unclear to this day. But at some point in the early morning hours of August 18, 2001, Mac and Ashley went to the Applecross Apartments in suburban Augusta to confront some of Mac's former friends, who had been hassling them.
CROFT: There was some animosity over the fact that they had befriended a sheriff's deputy that lived in their neighborhood. And they were being accused of being -- what did Ashley say? The guy called up that night and said, "You're a narc." I think that's the term that they used.
And that's basically what precipitated the fight between Mac and these -- group of savages that actually beat him severely, and then two of them stabbed him to death.
COLLINS: Ashley told police and her family she had been across the parking lot when the brawl began. She quickly called her stepfather for help. But it was too late.
CROFT: He fell back and into her arms in the back of that truck, and he died right there in her arms, right there in her arms. And I was -- I got on the scene about -- oh, gosh, they hadn't even taken him away yet. And she was just -- she was just -- of course, I mean, it was horrible. She was weeping uncontrollably. And it was -- it was horrific.
COLLINS: Friends and family say Ashley went into a deep depression after Mac's death.
CROFT: She was devastated. Like anyone else would be. She had this small child that she was caring for. Her life had begun to get a lot better. Mac's business was growing. And all of a sudden, this was all yanked away. And she was -- she was distraught.
COLLINS: Just months after Mac's death, she was convicted on a DUI charge and went into a court-related rehabilitation program.
Larry Croft brushes off an incident where she broke into his home, but said he knew she need help coping with drug addiction. He paid for her when she voluntarily went back into rehab last year.
LARRY HACKETT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: According to her family and to others, she was trying to get on straight and narrow. She was trying to get her life back in order. She was taking responsibility for herself.
PAGE: I think within the last two year is when she began to get very serious about growing strong in her faith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was happening that time in her life? Was that two years after her husband died, was she out of rehab at that time?
PAGE: That is correct. Since coming out of that situation, she has made a slow, steady progress towards stability and maturity.
COLLINS: After drug rehab, Ashley went back to school. She gave up custody of Page to her aunt in Augusta and moved to suburban Atlanta, returning weekly to see her daughter.
Four weeks ago, her aunt gave her a copy of "The Purpose Driven Life," a book that offered a Christian-based guide to living. Ashley, in turn, told her family not to lose faith in her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told us this year ago, she says, "Papa, Mama, believe me. I'm going to do something that's going to make you proud of me."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, she obviously did that.
Now, one footnote to all this. You just heard a moment ago the mention of "The Purpose Driven Life." Well, that's the Christian inspirational book that Ashley Smith says she read to Nichols. The chapter she read focused on serving others. And Smith says that may have been a turning point in her ordeal. O'BRIEN: Well, for Christians around the world, it is Easter week. Pictures now, St. Peter's Basilica, live ones. The Last Supper Mass is under way on this Holy Thursday. A live update on the event and the pope's activities next.
The surprising truth about the most traumatic memories. They actually change your brain physically. Dr. Sanjay Gupta gets into your head a little later on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: News around the world for you now.
A new day dawns in Kyrgyzstan as protesters make a power grab and force Kyrgyzstan's president to flee office. Anger over recent parliamentary elections reportedly fueling the uprising. Similar winds of change have recently blown through other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Ukraine to be specific.
Chess master Bobby Fischer in transit from a Japanese detention center to his new home, Iceland. Fischer's been held by Japanese officials since last July for trying to travel on an expired U.S. passport. Fischer also has issues with the U.S. government for allegedly violating sanctions for participating in a 1992 match against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia.
Fischer had sharp words for President Bush and Japan's prime minister, saying his incarceration was a kidnapping and calling the two men war criminals.
And at the Vatican, a mass commemorating the Last Supper takes place without the head of the Catholic Church. The pope has deemed too frail to participate in Holy Week events this year.
O'BRIEN: This week is considered the holiest of holiest of the year for the Roman Catholic Church. And it's the first time in the pope's 26 years as the head of the church that he is not actively participating in its masses and other ceremonies.
CNN's Alessio Vinci joins us now from Rome with more on the significance of his absence and how Vatican visitors are reacting.
What's the latest, Alessio?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
Well, once again, as expected, as you say, Pope John Paul II unable to attend the two masses at the Vatican today, one earlier this morning, commemorating priests, during which cardinals bless the oils used in sacraments and used in Catholic rites.
And then this evening, a mass just concluding now, in the St. Peter's Basilica, a mass commemorating Jesus' gesture of humility by washing the feet of the 12 apostles the night before being crucified. These two masses went ahead, because the ceremonies were led by a senior Vatican official, whom the pope has delegated to preside over these events.
And in fact, all of the major events during this Holy Week had been presided over by Vatican officials, who have mentioned the pope earlier this day in the mass. One of the cardinals said that, through his absence, he, the pope, is more than ever present. And he said, "We want to thank him for the witness he continues to give us, even through his example of serene abandonment to God."
The pope, while not being able to be present in the Basilica, is watching the proceedings from the apostolic palace, using closed circuit television. He has sent a message to the people attending the mass. The pope said, "Through this television and through this link from my apartment, I am able to be there with you, at least spiritually so."
Certainly, the pope is absent in person but very much present in the minds and hearts of the people participating to these events at the Basilica.
As far as the pilgrims are concerned, he's absent. Does not appear to have affected, much, the people here, St. Peter's Square, during these events, are packed. The Basilica, as you can see from this picture, is also packed. So certainly, while most pilgrims and most people attending those masses would have liked to have seen the pope there, they also understand and very much appreciate the effort he's doing in these difficult times, especially recovering now from surgery performed on him late last month -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alessio, of course, there's been a lot of speculation about how the pope is doing. What do we know to this minute about his condition and if it's getting better or worse or just remaining the same?
VINCI: What we do know for sure is that the doctors are telling us that his recovery from the surgery is going to take longer than expected and that his health continues to be a great concern.
His doctors are also saying, however, that at this time, there are no plans for the pope to return to the Gemelli Hospital.
Now, more than this I cannot really tell you. But there is wide speculation, especially here in the Italian media, that the pope is really suffering a series of setbacks. We have not been able to independently confirm those reports. But we certainly know that the pope at this time is going through a very, very, very difficult time.
And it's a bad timing, again, because this is a very important week in the holy -- in the Catholic calendar, and the pope is very much needed in these events -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alessio Vinci, live from Rome, thanks.
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Aired March 24, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: The Supreme Court decides to deny her parents' request. What is next for Terri Schiavo? We're live with the latest.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Purpose-driven cash? A hero gets her financial thank you for a city grateful that she stopped a killing spree with spirituality. Live pictures now. We'll take it when it happens.
O'BRIEN: And live pictures of the Last Supper Mass at St. Peter's. The pope may be saving his strength, but the faithful are celebrating. We're live from Rome.
Faithful fans of the latest gadgets hold onto your seats. Get a good look at the do-it-all fun machine, the portable PlayStation.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Kyra Phillips.
O'BRIEN: From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. It is Thursday, March 24, and CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
We're waiting for word from a Florida judge on a last-ditch move aimed at keeping Terri Schiavo alive. The brain damaged woman has gone without nutrition for almost a week now. And her parents say time is running out.
Today, they lost another bid to have their daughter's feeding tube reattached, this one at the U.S. Supreme Court. And that's where we find CNN's Kathleen Koch -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the Schindlers knew that, certainly, making this last ditch appeal to the Supreme Court was a long shot. They had tried to get the court to take their daughter's case four times in the past, two most recently this past week, and they had failed every time. But again, they wanted to make the effort.
Now, the emergency filing right around 11 p.m. last night went to Justice Anthony Kennedy. He is the justice on the Supreme Court who does have responsibility for cases that emanate from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
As expected then, late last night, he did refer to the full nine member court, all nine justices. And so it was for roughly some 11 1/2 hours that the justices considered the merit of the appeal. And finally, around 10:30 this morning, that they declined to hear the appeal, declined to step in, to have Terri Schiavo's feeding tube inserted.
Now, the justices did not reveal what their final vote was on the case, nor did they explain their rationale behind this final decision.
Now, of course, reaction on this has come very swiftly. First of all, from attorneys for Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo. One of them saying, quote, "The status quo today is that Mrs. Schiavo is exactly where she would want to be: she has been released from unwanted, intrusive medical procedures according to her wishes. Preservation of the status quo would allow her to die in peace, and to maintain her dignity and autonomy."
Also, much reaction coming from the U.S. Congress, which, as you'll recall, intervened over the weekend, something very unprecedented, taking the action to basically give federal courts jurisdiction over this one case, give Terri Schiavo's parents the chance to appeal her case to a federal court.
And one of those who was very obviously instrumental in the congressional intervention was Senator Bill Frist, not only Senate majority leader but a physician himself. And his reaction is, quote, "I'm saddened by the decision of the court to reject Terri Schiavo's case for life despite a compelling case for reexamination of the medical evidence. It is a sad day for her loving family and their innocent and voiceless daughter."
And, Miles, right here at the Supreme Court, there has not been a great deal of reaction. There are very few protesters. Only about 10 of them lined up standing silently in front of the court with red tape over their mouths that reads -- has "life" written on the red tape. But those same protesters in that same number were here on Monday, as well -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Kathleen Koch, on the steps of the Supreme Court, thank you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Miles. Live pictures right now from the state capitol here in Atlanta, Georgia.
You're looking at Ashley Smith right now as she's about to receive $65,000 in reward money. You'll remember Ashley Smith. She is the one that spent almost a 24-hour period with the courthouse shooting suspect, Brian Nichols, reading "The Purpose Driven Life" and the Bible to him in what police believe was a pretty emotional time together that led to the stop of that shooting spree.
Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... a lot of law enforcement departments, agencies, and officers were there to try to find our suspect. We were really concerned, and everybody in the room was concerned that if we did find him, taken into regard the violence that we had already expected, or seen that day, we expected it to be a major problem and difficulty.
But come Saturday morning, we received word from the Gwinnett County Police Department that he had been surrounded and had, at that point had given up. He quit. Something that none of us expected. We did expect a fight and we did expect -- either that or suicide. None of those things occurred.
We never counted on Ashley Smith. We never took that into consideration. But Ashley, with your calm demeanor and handling of the situation, with your cool-headed reasoning, you were able to overcome a very serious situation. And we want to say thank you.
And on behalf of the U.S. Marshal Service, I want to present this check to you $25,000. You deserve it. You earned it.
One more thing. We want to give you a plaque. I'm sure you'll not forget this day. But we'd like to -- for you to remember. It says "Presented to Ashley Smith for your bravery and will in the face of extreme danger and difficulty. Because of your strong ford attitude and resilience to overcome a life-threatening situation, a dangerous fugitive was brought to justice. The United States Marshal Service commends you, March 12, 2005."
Thank you, Ashley. We appreciate it. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon. I'm Deputy Chief Pete Andriessen (ph) with the Atlanta Police Department, criminal investigation division.
And on behalf of Mary Shirley Franken, the city council of Atlanta, Chief Richard Pennington and Assistant Chief Richard Dreyer (p), we would like to thank and commend Miss Ashley Smith, using the Atlanta Police Department motto, answering the call. We feel like Miss Smith answered the call and did her duty well.
We'd like to present her with a check for $5,000. We'd also like to thank and commend the other law enforcement agencies and city units that worked with us.
Thank you.
SHERIFF TOM SMITH, WASHINGTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Thank you very much. My name is Tom Smith and I'm the sheriff of Washington County, Georgia. And I'm also the president of the Georgia Sheriff's Association.
On behalf of every sheriff of the state of Georgia, I would like to present to you a check for $5,000 for the apprehension of Brian Nichols. You re definitely a blessed person and a child of God. All of the sheriffs appreciate your courage, your strength, and your perseverance.
May God continue to bless you and your family. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Frank Vincent Rotundo (ph). I'm the executive director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. I will not be presenting Ashley with a check today. We sent that check last week. We felt that she probably could use it.
Ashley, I wanted to tell you that I represent an organization that has 1,200 members, 562 of them being police chiefs, a very worthwhile organization. I looked at the words that my predecessors said. Their very important words.
But what I remember most about the capture of Brian Nichols was a clip I saw on television of your grandfather with tears in his eyes. I saw your grandfather talk a little bit about how you were able to use your communication skills in conjunction with, essentially, your religious and spiritual upbringing, which made you essentially do the right thing.
And that's really why we're here today. Ashley did the right thing.
So on behalf of all professional law enforcement people, as well as the citizens of the state of Georgia, and of this nation, I do commend you personally.
I have one more remark before I step aside. Ashley, it is our true wish, since we believe in education and training, that you take a little bit of that money and put it towards your education, as I'm sure you're swearing that you will do.
With that in mind, thank you, Ashley. And I'm an old Italian, so the custom is to say good-bye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon. My name is Carlton Stallings (ph). I am the state president of the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police.
On behalf of the Georgia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police and more than 300,000 members throughout this nation, please accept our sincere appreciation for your actions on March the 12th that led to the apprehension of Brian Nichols and put it end to one of Atlanta's most tragic events.
While you did not choose to be placed in a life-threatening situation, you met the challenge and diffused the potential for more violence. So on behalf of the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police, it is with great pleasure that I present you with this check for $5,000 and wish you success in life. Thank you.
GOV. SONNY PERDUE (R), GEORGIA: Ashley is just stacking the checks up here. You know, now it's my turn to make a presentation on behalf of the state of Georgia, Ashley, and on behalf of all of our citizens of Georgia.
On March 11, I announced a state reward of $10,000 for leading to the apprehension of a suspect in the courthouse shootings, Brian Nichols. As we all know and as we've heard recounted here today, in the early hours of March the 12th, Ashley Smith was held hostage in her home by Mr. Nichols and ultimately persuaded him to release her unharmed. And then she notified police of his whereabouts.
I don't need to refresh all the facts here again today. But I do want to comment on one fact that strikes me as most important about the events of that night, as told by Ashley. And it's a role that Ashley's faith played in her survival and bringing the situation to a peaceful end.
Trapped in her home with a dangerous killer, Ashley won trust through her humanity and her compassion. She talked about her late husband and her love for her daughter. And she talked about her faith. And she read aloud from the book "The Purpose Driven Life" that discusses God's plan for each of us in our lives.
And with her words and by her actions through these long, frightful hours, she pierced a murderer's heart, his hardened heart. She led him to see what he had begun in anger could not go on and that it was time to put down his weapon, time to let her go, and time to surrender to justice.
Any one of us -- any one of us would have been frightened to have found ourselves in that situation, trapped alone in our home with a killer. But Ashley was not alone with Mr. Nichols. Because of her faith, there was someone else there with her to give her the words and the courage and the strength to do what she did.
Ashley has stated that she believes Brian Nichols was led to her door that night so that she could bring the rampage to an end. That is a strong testament of her faith, and that's what I see as the most important thing to know about her and the events of that night.
So Ashley, on behalf of the people of Georgia, I am pleased to present this check to you for $10,000 and invite you to say a few words here today. Thank you very much.
ASHLEY SMITH, FORMER HOSTAGE: First of all, I want to thank my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, for his love and his grace. I would not be standing here without him today.
The outpouring of support I've received from family members, friends, the city of Atlanta, my hometown Augusta, the state of Georgia and the entire nation, have been overwhelming and, at the same time, humbling for me.
Throughout this journey, I have felt your prayers, and your prayers have sustained and strengthened me. Yes, my life has changed, but that is a small fraction compared to all the families that lost loved ones during these tragic events earlier in the month. My heart goes out to all the families of those that are still mourning.
My life is a testimony that God can use us, even in the midst of tragedy, and that miracles do happen. The hope of the Easter season is my hope. Thank you for your support and continued prayers as I strive to honor God's purpose for my life. May God bless you all.
PERDUE: I want to thank all of our law enforcement community representatives...
PHILLIPS: I don't know about you, but I felt like I was sitting in church there, just a couple days early, listening to Ashley Smith as she received all the reward money after sitting down, one-on-one, with Brian Nichols, the alleged shooting suspect, as you know, that left four people dead here in an Atlanta courthouse and elsewhere.
Governor Sonny Perdue there, governor of Georgia, ending, wrapping up a special ceremony. You heard from the FBI, the marshals department, the Georgia Sheriffs Association, Georgia Association Chief of Police, Fraternal Order of Police, and then, an additional surprise, another $5,000 from the Atlanta Police Department. A total of $70,000 Ashley Smith has received in reward money.
She received plaques, cash obviously, and so many accolades, being called from "a child of God" to "a brave and courageous soul."
Ashley Smith now wrapping up that ceremony once again, like she did with Brian Nichols, talking about her faith and the power that God gave her to do what she did.
Now, police say also that Ashley Smith used food and faith to calm Brian Nichols. But they may have shared an even deeper bond. Like Nichols, Smith knew what it was like to wrestle is demons. Smith was a widowed, single mother trying to start fresh after a rocky pass.
Our Sharon Collins has this that profile and a piece that originally aired on CNN's "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," talking about Ashley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was a good student and a standout athlete at Augusta Christian. She had been baptized and pledged her life to God. But Ashley Copeland's teenage years were not easy ones.
Her pastor, Frank Page, counseled her during those years.
REV. FRANK PAGE, SMITH'S FORMER PASTOR: There were times of teenage rebellion. There were times when she would move away from the Lord and be rebellious to authority, just like most teenagers do.
COLLINS: Ashley's first brush with the law came when she was 16, still in high school. A shoplifting conviction for stealing a shirt from the local Macy's.
PAGE: I think her faith has always been real since she was a teenager. But faith for many of us, in fact, probably most, all people, sometimes has -- it has an ebb and flow. And she went through some tough times, some dark times, where I don't think her faith was very strong, certainly wasn't strong enough.
COLLINS: Ashley's rebelliousness led to more charges. There was an arrest for underage drinking. She lasted just one quarter at a local college before dropping out.
Her stepfather at the time, Larry Croft, says that Ashley was a good kid would started hanging out with the wrong people, that she started drinking and using drugs. Croft and Ashley were close, even though he says she didn't always appreciate the tough love he and her mother tried to impose on her.
When her life looked like it was getting out of control, he put her to work in his water purification business.
LARRY CROFT, SMITH'S STEPFATHER: She can do anything. The child's a brilliant, brilliant child. She would do things like bookkeeping, answering the phone, helping me with my closing sales calls, thing like that.
COLLINS: Ashley met a young man, Daniel Smith, Mac, who was trying to overcome his own troubled past.
CROFT: She saw him and said, "I'm going to marry that man." And sure enough, they ended up getting married. It was tumultuous at first, and then it began to level out, because he started basically listening to her. And I could see the change in him.
COLLINS: The leveling out, Croft says, began after Ashley and Mac Smith's daughter, Paige, was born five years ago.
CROFT: He had started his business. I had helped him get his business started. And they were doing quite well, as a matter of fact. And as a matter of fact, they had gotten a whole new coterie of friends, and that's really what preceded the problem the night he was killed.
COLLINS: The circumstances of that night remain unclear to this day. But at some point in the early morning hours of August 18, 2001, Mac and Ashley went to the Applecross Apartments in suburban Augusta to confront some of Mac's former friends, who had been hassling them.
CROFT: There was some animosity over the fact that they had befriended a sheriff's deputy that lived in their neighborhood. And they were being accused of being -- what did Ashley say? The guy called up that night and said, "You're a narc." I think that's the term that they used.
And that's basically what precipitated the fight between Mac and these -- group of savages that actually beat him severely, and then two of them stabbed him to death.
COLLINS: Ashley told police and her family she had been across the parking lot when the brawl began. She quickly called her stepfather for help. But it was too late.
CROFT: He fell back and into her arms in the back of that truck, and he died right there in her arms, right there in her arms. And I was -- I got on the scene about -- oh, gosh, they hadn't even taken him away yet. And she was just -- she was just -- of course, I mean, it was horrible. She was weeping uncontrollably. And it was -- it was horrific.
COLLINS: Friends and family say Ashley went into a deep depression after Mac's death.
CROFT: She was devastated. Like anyone else would be. She had this small child that she was caring for. Her life had begun to get a lot better. Mac's business was growing. And all of a sudden, this was all yanked away. And she was -- she was distraught.
COLLINS: Just months after Mac's death, she was convicted on a DUI charge and went into a court-related rehabilitation program.
Larry Croft brushes off an incident where she broke into his home, but said he knew she need help coping with drug addiction. He paid for her when she voluntarily went back into rehab last year.
LARRY HACKETT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: According to her family and to others, she was trying to get on straight and narrow. She was trying to get her life back in order. She was taking responsibility for herself.
PAGE: I think within the last two year is when she began to get very serious about growing strong in her faith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was happening that time in her life? Was that two years after her husband died, was she out of rehab at that time?
PAGE: That is correct. Since coming out of that situation, she has made a slow, steady progress towards stability and maturity.
COLLINS: After drug rehab, Ashley went back to school. She gave up custody of Page to her aunt in Augusta and moved to suburban Atlanta, returning weekly to see her daughter.
Four weeks ago, her aunt gave her a copy of "The Purpose Driven Life," a book that offered a Christian-based guide to living. Ashley, in turn, told her family not to lose faith in her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told us this year ago, she says, "Papa, Mama, believe me. I'm going to do something that's going to make you proud of me."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, she obviously did that.
Now, one footnote to all this. You just heard a moment ago the mention of "The Purpose Driven Life." Well, that's the Christian inspirational book that Ashley Smith says she read to Nichols. The chapter she read focused on serving others. And Smith says that may have been a turning point in her ordeal. O'BRIEN: Well, for Christians around the world, it is Easter week. Pictures now, St. Peter's Basilica, live ones. The Last Supper Mass is under way on this Holy Thursday. A live update on the event and the pope's activities next.
The surprising truth about the most traumatic memories. They actually change your brain physically. Dr. Sanjay Gupta gets into your head a little later on LIVE FROM.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: News around the world for you now.
A new day dawns in Kyrgyzstan as protesters make a power grab and force Kyrgyzstan's president to flee office. Anger over recent parliamentary elections reportedly fueling the uprising. Similar winds of change have recently blown through other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Ukraine to be specific.
Chess master Bobby Fischer in transit from a Japanese detention center to his new home, Iceland. Fischer's been held by Japanese officials since last July for trying to travel on an expired U.S. passport. Fischer also has issues with the U.S. government for allegedly violating sanctions for participating in a 1992 match against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia.
Fischer had sharp words for President Bush and Japan's prime minister, saying his incarceration was a kidnapping and calling the two men war criminals.
And at the Vatican, a mass commemorating the Last Supper takes place without the head of the Catholic Church. The pope has deemed too frail to participate in Holy Week events this year.
O'BRIEN: This week is considered the holiest of holiest of the year for the Roman Catholic Church. And it's the first time in the pope's 26 years as the head of the church that he is not actively participating in its masses and other ceremonies.
CNN's Alessio Vinci joins us now from Rome with more on the significance of his absence and how Vatican visitors are reacting.
What's the latest, Alessio?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
Well, once again, as expected, as you say, Pope John Paul II unable to attend the two masses at the Vatican today, one earlier this morning, commemorating priests, during which cardinals bless the oils used in sacraments and used in Catholic rites.
And then this evening, a mass just concluding now, in the St. Peter's Basilica, a mass commemorating Jesus' gesture of humility by washing the feet of the 12 apostles the night before being crucified. These two masses went ahead, because the ceremonies were led by a senior Vatican official, whom the pope has delegated to preside over these events.
And in fact, all of the major events during this Holy Week had been presided over by Vatican officials, who have mentioned the pope earlier this day in the mass. One of the cardinals said that, through his absence, he, the pope, is more than ever present. And he said, "We want to thank him for the witness he continues to give us, even through his example of serene abandonment to God."
The pope, while not being able to be present in the Basilica, is watching the proceedings from the apostolic palace, using closed circuit television. He has sent a message to the people attending the mass. The pope said, "Through this television and through this link from my apartment, I am able to be there with you, at least spiritually so."
Certainly, the pope is absent in person but very much present in the minds and hearts of the people participating to these events at the Basilica.
As far as the pilgrims are concerned, he's absent. Does not appear to have affected, much, the people here, St. Peter's Square, during these events, are packed. The Basilica, as you can see from this picture, is also packed. So certainly, while most pilgrims and most people attending those masses would have liked to have seen the pope there, they also understand and very much appreciate the effort he's doing in these difficult times, especially recovering now from surgery performed on him late last month -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alessio, of course, there's been a lot of speculation about how the pope is doing. What do we know to this minute about his condition and if it's getting better or worse or just remaining the same?
VINCI: What we do know for sure is that the doctors are telling us that his recovery from the surgery is going to take longer than expected and that his health continues to be a great concern.
His doctors are also saying, however, that at this time, there are no plans for the pope to return to the Gemelli Hospital.
Now, more than this I cannot really tell you. But there is wide speculation, especially here in the Italian media, that the pope is really suffering a series of setbacks. We have not been able to independently confirm those reports. But we certainly know that the pope at this time is going through a very, very, very difficult time.
And it's a bad timing, again, because this is a very important week in the holy -- in the Catholic calendar, and the pope is very much needed in these events -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alessio Vinci, live from Rome, thanks.
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