Brian Nichols Murder Case Takes a Turn as Judge Steps Down

Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller has announced he will no longer preside over the trial involving accused Atlanta courthouse shooter Brian Nichols after a magazine article published a quote in which the judge asserted that the defendant was guilty.

Nichols stands accused of killing four people on March 11, 2005 after he broke free from a guard while he was being transported to a separate trial in which he had been facing rape charges.

On that day Nichols shot and killed the judge in his rape case and a court reporter. While he was fleeing the courthouse he shot and killed a sheriff’s deputy and later in the day he killed a federal agent.

Fuller has said that he does not recall making the comment being attributed to him yet he did not want the issue to become a matter that would affect the trial. In a letter written to Doris Downs, the chief judge for Fulton County Superior Court, Fuller noted “In light of recent media reports, I am no longer hopeful that I can provide a trial perceived to be fair to both the state and the accused.”

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