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Ashley Smith

By her own account, Ashley Smith is far from an angel or a hero. Yet today, her face is known around the world as the single mother who persuaded Brian Nichols, Atlanta’s courtroom killer, to surrender to police. Nichols called Ashley “an angel sent from God", but, ironically, it was Ashley’s less-than-angelic past that allowed her to convince him to face justice. Born August 1, 1978 in Augusta, Georgia, she was surrounded by a God-fearing family. Her parents divorced when she was a toddler, and she spent much of her early years in the company of her mother’s extended family - especially her grandfather and aunt. At an early age she took up with Mack Smith and became pregnant less than a year into the relationship. The couple married just two months before baby Paige was born prematurely, weighing less than 3 lbs. It was a volatile marriage, but Ashley was determined to keep her family together. Things were beginning to settle down when Mack ran into his old gang and was fatally stabbed by people he once called friends. Following the murder, Ashley gave her aunt temporary custody of Paige, now three and a half. She wanted to be a mother to her daughter, but her addiction to methamphetamines kept pulling her farther away from her dreams. God kept calling, but Ashley always... Next

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