JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Widely anticipated new book about the Atlanta Courthouse Shootings, written by respected trial attorney, turned author, Shoran Reid. “Waking the Sleeping Demon: 26 Hours of Terror in Atlanta” (ISBN: 978-0-615-20749-0, Rella Publishing), follows the terrifying hours Former Prosecutor Ash Joshi felt hunted by Atlanta Courthouse Shooter Brian Nichols and reveals new information about events prior to and after the tragedy. In the early morning hours of March 11, 2005, defendant Brian Nichols was scheduled to appear in court for the rape and kidnapping at gunpoint of his ex-girlfriend.
This was the second time in less than two weeks Nichols was being tried on these charges as the first trial ended in a hung jury. Nichols took matters into his own hands and brutally beat the female deputy responsible for escorting him to the courtroom and escaped custody with the deputy’s weapon and ammunition. Nichols methodically set out on a killing spree of the people he felt responsible for his predicament which included Ash Joshi.
In less than 15 minutes, Nichols held five hostages inside the chambers of Judge Rowland Barnes, crept up behind Judge Barnes sitting on his bench and executed him by shooting him in the back of the head. He then gunned down the court reporter, and managed to make his way outside the courthouse and killed a Sheriff’s deputy on the street. Nichols set out on a crime spree, which ended with the murder of an FBI Agent later that evening. Waking the Sleeping Demon offers readers an inside look into this tragedy from a perspective rarely told – that of the victims.
It’s easy to recall the first and last names of heinous criminals who tore apart families and spread fear throughout communities across this country. The likes of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dauhmer, The Zodiac Killer or newly added to the list, Brian Nichols, readily come to mind. Sadly, what’s not as easy to recall are the names of the victims and their stories. In “Waking the Sleeping Demon” Ms. Reid attempts to change the vantage point of the American conscience from the fascination and glorification of evil, to the emotional pain these serial killers cause in the splintered lives of those left in their wake, and what as a society we should do to prevent it from happening again.
“Rather than merely putting victims’ pain on display for a sound bite that would just as quickly be forgotten, I yearned to described their stories in a way that would make us all stop and ask what kind of society we live in if we continually dismiss peoples’ bone-searing pain, yet relish in stories of “why” their tormentors committed such atrocities,” said Ms. Reid. “I hope that people come away from this book, knowing that I have tried to alter the discussion, maybe even change the view of the general public from glorifying people like Brian Nichols, to respecting the loss of their victims, while striving to accurately record a piece of history.”
Opening arguments began Monday, September 22 in the Atlanta Municipal Court Building.
Waking the Sleeping Demon: 26 Hours of Terror is available at www.shoranreid.com and wherever books are sold.
About Shoran Reid
Shoran Reid is a graduate of Miami University and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She spent nearly a decade as a successful civil trial attorney in Atlanta, earning the respect of judges, jurors and her colleagues alike. Known throughout courthouse communities for her steadfast preparedness, she carried that same commitment to excellence into her career as a writer. Her debut work “Waking the Sleeping Demon: 26 Hours of Terror in Atlanta” (Rella Publishing Trade Paperback), is a thought-provoking, non-fiction account of the Atlanta Courthouse shootings. http://www.shoranreid.com.
