The redemptive power of crystal methamphetamine

Remember the story about Ashley Smith, the woman taken hostage by a desperate murderer in Atlanta, who read him a chapter from "The Purpose-Driven Life" and won him over by sharing her faith in God with him? (Here's some helpful marketing information about the incident.)

Ms. Smith quickly became the darling of the evangelical set, and racked up tens of thousands of dollars in rewards and appearance fees (so far.) And, naturally, she's got a book coming out, in which she reveals...

Well, it turns out that her faith in God is not *all* she shared with the gunman...

Ashley Smith, the woman who says she persuaded suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols to release her by talking about her faith, discloses in a new book that she gave him methamphetamine during the hostage ordeal.

Smith did not share that detail with authorities at the time. But investigators said she came clean about the drugs when they interviewed her months later. They said they have no plans to charge her with drug possession.

In her book, "Unlikely Angel," released Tuesday, Smith says Nichols had her bound on her bed with masking tape and an extension cord. She says he asked for marijuana, but she did not have any, and she dug into her illegal stash of crystal meth instead.

Feel the healing power of crank!

Hostage Gave Meth to Atlanta Fugitive (AP, via Yahoo News)