One-time Olympic park bombing suspect Richard Jewell dies

[wicket]

Source: CNN

Richard Jewell, the security guard wrongly suspected of setting off a deadly bomb at Atlanta, Georgia's Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympics, has died, his attorney, Lin Wood, told CNN on Wednesday.

Richard Jewell, who was wrongly suspected of setting off a bomb during the 1996 Olympics, has died.

Jewell was 44. It was not immediately known how he died.

After 12 weeks of scrutiny following the bombing, Jewell was cleared by the FBI and U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander in an unprecedented government acknowledgment of wrongful accusation.

"I am not the Olympic park bomber," Jewell told reporters after being cleared. "I am a man who has lived 88 days afraid of being arrested for a crime I did not commit."

The FBI, Jewell said, trampled on his rights "in its rush to show the world it could get its man," while the news media "cared nothing about my feelings as a human being" in its rush to get a story on the bombing.

Jewell was working as a private security guard in Centennial Olympic Park about 1 a.m. on July 27 when he identified a suspicious unidentified package and began moving people away from it. The package turned out to contain the bomb, which went off, killing one person and wounding more than 100.

He was originally hailed as a hero for moving people away, but he was later thrust into a different light when the FBI suspected that he had set off the bomb to give himself an opportunity to be a hero.

For weeks, reporters and camera crews camped outside Jewell's Atlanta apartment, capturing every move that he -- and the FBI -- made.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/29/richard.jewell/index.html

---

:cry: :cry:

[saigon68]

1. He collected damages too

[wicket]

2. As well he should have

n/t

[RebelOne]

5. He hasn't collected anything yet.

His case against the AJC is still pending.

[LisaL]

47. He hasn't collected from AJC.

He did settle some other lawsuits, according to wikipedia.

[BooScout]

3. They treated him like shit....

I was living in Atlanta at that time. The FBI, The Police and the Press crucified him instead of lauding him as the hero he was.

May Richard now rest in peace.

[wicket]

7. They ruined his life and now he's dead

:cry:

[Tab]

4. He was a pretty big guy, if I remember

And I'm sure the years since were stressful. A heart attack might not have been out of the question.

[wicket]

6. AJC is saying it was complications from diabetes

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/08/29/jewell_0830.html

[BooScout]

11. AJC is speculating that.....

There has been no autopsy yet that I am aware of. Nor has any Doctor given the cause of death on a death certificate.

While he very well may have died due to complications of diabetes.........the AJC is jumping the gun on giving a cause of death.....just like the AJC did when they reported a bunch of bullshit about Jewell during and after the 1996 Olympics.

[wicket]

15. EXCELLENT point

:thumbsup:

[brentspeak]

8. The FBI and the corporate media did this guy in

I remember all the stupid "experts" that the networks paraded in front of the cameras after Jewell was arrested: Jewell "manufactured a scenario so as to make himself look like a hero"; he "had a grudge against people more successful than he,"; and other B.S. pop psychology psychobabble. And all of it dead wrong.

[wicket]

9. The treatment of him was absolutely disgusting

:grr:

He was only 44.

[soothsayer]

10. gawd. i hope he didn't blow himself up! (that guy got totally HOSED, like Hatfield)

[peace13]

12. One minute he was a hero....

'He was originally hailed as a hero for moving people away, but he was later thrust into a different light when the FBI suspected that he had set off the bomb to give himself an opportunity to be a hero.'
So sad, he was hailed as a hero for getting people out of harms way! He was a hero but in America you can be painted with the brush of doom and doubt in a heartbeat. It is so sad that even after death he is still referred to as the 'Olympic bomb suspect'. Richard I apologize for this. Peace to you and your family. Kim

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. What I'll Never Forget About Him

was his appearance on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update." I have long suspected that his lawyers threatened to sue NBC for all it was worth, but that Richard Jewell would settle for one appearance at which he could speak for himself. I have no proof of that, just suspicions.

[wicket]

18. Video of him on "Weekend Update" here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kUMXA29nSpU

I couldn't find the other clip of him from SNL, when he punches out Janet Reno as played by Will Ferrell. Classic.

RIP Mr. Jewell

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. It's mentioned at Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Jewell#Richard_Jewell_v._NBC

"Richard Jewell v. NBC
Jewell sued NBC News for this statement, made by Tom Brokaw, "The speculation is that the FBI is close to making the case. They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. There are still some holes in this case." Even though NBC stood by its story, the network agreed to pay Jewell $500,000."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Jewell#Aftermath

"Jewell appeared in Michael Moore's 1997 film, The Big One. He had a cameo in the September 27, 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live, where he punched Will Ferrell in character as Janet Reno and jokingly fended off suggestions that he was responsible for the deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana."

[wicket]

20. Thanks!

:hi:

[mahatmakanejeeves]

43. My pleasure.

That guy really got a raw deal. Perfect example of the adage "no good deed goes unpunished."

[wicket]

45. Ain't that the truth

n/t

[crusincop]

57. Moved

[Bluebear]

14. I suspect a broken heart was involved.

:(

[wicket]

17. Definitely

:cry:

[LostInAnomie]

16. He should have at least died a VERY rich man.

He deserved to own the AJC and the FBI after the horror they put him through.

RIP Mr. Jewell

[BeyondGeography]

21. Richard Jewell Dies at 44; Wrongly Linked to Olympic Bomb

Source: Associated Press

ATLANTA - Richard Jewell, the former security guard who was erroneously linked to the 1996 Olympic bombing, died Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Jewell, 44, was found dead in his west Georgia home, GBI spokesman John Bankhead said.

“There’s no suspicion whatsoever of any type of foul play. He had been at home sick since the end of February with kidney problems,” said Meriwether County Coroner Johnny Worley.

...In 1997, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno expressed regret over the leak regarding Jewell. ''I'm very sorry it happened,'' she told reporters. ''I think we owe him an apology.'' The Atlanta newspaper never settled a lawsuit Jewell filed against it. The case was still pending as of last year. A lawyer for the newspaper did not immediately return calls seeking comment.




Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Obit-Jewell.html?hp

---

Raw deal, sad ending...RIP, Mr. Jewell.

On edit: The new link has a more appropriate headline than the original.

[Ian David]

22. Poor Richard Jewell. And the media learned nothing from what they did to him. n/t

[Spiffarino]

41. It wasn't just the media. The FBI kept priming them.

There were enough people in the Bureau who thought him guilty and they kept pushing tidbits to the papers to keep it alive. The man's life was very nearly ruined in spite of the fact that he'd actually done a good job and may have saved lives.

Whether or not the paper should have been made to pay (it should have), the FBI bears the most responsibility for promoting Jewell as the nutty wannabe cop who was guilty as hell. Reno apologized, but the Director should have been shit-canned.

[YOY]

23. A disposable human being

They scapegoated him. The world disposed of him.

He died alone. Sad.

[defendandprotect]

24. Another one of the atrocious examples of trial by media and injustice in America ---

[dbt]

25. Another two-shot suicide?

:evilgrin:

[Faygo Kid]

27. He's been at home with kidney problems since February.

I think the guy has taken enough at this point. I wouldn't want to go through what he did. And dead at 44.

[onewholaughsatfools]

32. at home with kidney problems, why?

because he didn't have insurance!!!!!!!!!!
sad indeed

[LisaL]

37. Oh for crying out loud. He supposedly settled

with some in the media. If he didn't have health insurance (and HTF do you know that he didn't?), one would think he could have used his settlement money to pay for his treatment.

[CreekDog]

53. How much settlement money did he end up with after fees?

How much treatment would that have paid for?

[LisaL]

55. Wikipedia claims he got 500,000$ from NBC.

Don't know about other settlements. By the way, WTF would anyone assume he didn't have medical insurance in a first place?

[CreekDog]

56. Maybe because he wasn't working

But I am not saying that caused his death.

Also, though he RECEIVED 500,000 in settlements, with legal fees, he might have ended up with far less.

My post was mainly reacting to your harshness towards the guy and the poster (who was admittedly jumping to conclusions).

[LisaL]

60. He was working. He was on medical leave.

Amazingly, people who do have health insurance can get sick too.

[melody]

39. The poster was suggesting someone did him in

2 shot suicide = murder

[Faygo Kid]

44. Yes, I know. That's why I posted the medical problems. Apparently diabetes.

And he had dialysis (kidneys). I did not like flip speculation about the cause of death. "2 shot suicide" for a guy whose reputation was ruined by speculation was uncalled for.

[endarkenment]

26. Even in death he is maligned.

"Olympics bombing figure Richard Jewell "

The headline sadly perpetuates the victimization of Jewell, tarring him for a crime he had nothing to do with once again.

[MilesColtrane]

28. Shitty reporting.

The headline is absolute bullshit. It should read, "Media Maligned Bombing Hero Jewell Dies".

Notice that the real culprit, Eric Rudolph, is simply identified as an anti-government extremist.

He was in fact an anti-abortion extremist, and a member of the racist Christian Identity movement.

Microsoft and NBC: Rewriting History Since 1996™

[alarimer]

50. Rudolph should really be indentified as a terrorist

Because that is what he is.

There are no second chances in this country; once a suspect you are considered guilty FOREVER. Poor Richard Jewell.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

29. He was as much a victim of that bomb as anyone else.

That bomb, and what happened after, killed his life as well.

And The Journal-Constitution and its lawyers can go intercourse themselves. That money could have kept him alive.

[BeyondGeography]

31. They waited him out...

Bastards.

[kenny blankenship]

30. I wonder if this poor bastard had health insurance?

Or if not having any insurance contributed to his death.
I'm guessing "no" and "yes".

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[high density]

35. I think you're misinterpreting the term "poor bastard" NM

[David Zephyr]

34. What a shitty thing the media did to this poor, decent man.

Shitty.

[Skittles]

54. I remember when they said what their "evidence" was

and they described half of the men in America - I thought it was very odd before all the other stuff even developed - it was just terrible

[onehandle]

36. Was Eric Rudolph a registered Republican like Timothy McVeigh?

Just wondering.

[ingac70]

38. Poor guy. n/t.

[melody]

40. How incredibly, incredibly sad

How refreshing to remember an attorney general actually admitting a mistake, however.

[BootinUp]

42. Thats awful young, undoubtedly the stress of his experience

harmed his health. Very sad.

[JI7]

46. very sad

horrible what he went through.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Dulcinea]

49. He was sacrificed to save the 1996 Olympics.

I live in the Atlanta area. This city was so hyped when it got the '96 Olympics, & so much money & publicity went into it, & then along comes the bombing & 2 deaths, thus threatening to ruin the whole production.

I was about 500 yards from the bomb when it went off; terrible chaos ensued. Centennial Park was closed for some time thereafter; it was a crime scene, not the showpiece the city envisioned!

I'm sorry if that sounds callous, but a lot of bigwigs would have lost millions & a lot of reputations would've been destroyed, so Mr. Jewell was made the scapegoat. I personally never thought he had anything to do with the bombing.

After the Olympics, he became a police officer in south Georgia, which he always wanted to do. I'm glad at least that worked out for him.

May he rest in peace. O8)

[wicket]

51. kick

:kick:

[mitchum]

52. Yet our $$$$ will pay for the upkeep of TERRORIST Eric Rudolph

[crusincop]

58. Just A Little Info

It's nice to see all the kind comments about Richard. To answer a few of the questions that have arisen....Richard was working as a deputy for the Meriwether County Sheriff's Office, he had health insurance and he had been suffering with complications from Diabetes since being diagnosed with the disease in late January. He tried to come back to work just a couple of weeks ago, but he only made it 2 nights before the health problems became too much again.
Richard was such a gentle and loving man....he loved his family, his friends and his job. Richard never collected as much money from the media lawsuits as a lot of people thought and what he did collect, he used to make sure that his mom was taken care of. He and Dana both worked hard to pay for the home and property that they purchased together in Meriwether County. Though he still struggled with trust issues, he tried to leave his past in the past and move on to his future...I often teased he and Dana about having children and naming them Pearl, Ruby, Diamond...LOL...he would have been a great dad.

When I responded to Dana's 911 call on Wednesday morning, I never thought that he would really be gone, but he was. I will share this, Richard had the most peaceful look on his face...I had not seen that kind of peace for him in years...he finally is at complete rest....

[cally]

59. Thank you for sharing with us

I'm glad he found some measure peace in his later years.