August 30, 2007

Requiem For A Betrayed Hero

Richard Jewell died yesterday at 44, the victim of diabetes and kidney failure. Richard Jewell's public reputation died eleven years ago, the victim of a mistake by law enforcement and a media blitz that did its best to paint him as a psychopathic bomber with absolutely no evidence -- when all Richard Jewell had done was save lives. In this instance, the New York Times gets it right:

Richard A. Jewell, whose transformation from heroic security guard to Olympic bombing suspect and back again came to symbolize the excesses of law enforcement and the news media, died Wednesday at his home in Woodbury, Ga. He was 44. ...

The heavy-set Mr. Jewell, with a country drawl and a deferential manner, became an instant celebrity after a bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in the early hours of July 27, 1996, at the midpoint of the Summer Games. The explosion, which propelled hundreds of nails through the darkness, killed one woman, injured 111 people and changed the mood of the Olympiad.

Only minutes earlier, Mr. Jewell, who was working a temporary job as a guard, had spotted the abandoned green knapsack that contained the bomb, called it to the attention of the police, and started moving visitors away from the area. He was praised for the quick thinking that presumably saved lives.

But three days later, he found himself identified in an article in The Atlanta Journal as the focus of police attention, leading to several searches of his apartment and surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and by reporters who set upon him, he would later say, “like piranha on a bleeding cow.”

What had Jewell done to attract suspicion? Ironically, he had performed too well in his role as a security guard. He noticed the backpack by the bench and quickly determined that it could be a threat. After inadvertently changing the position of the backpack -- which thwarted the bomber, whose shaped charge went up and not out -- he started clearing people from the area as fast as he could before the bomb exploded. The nail-packed charge killed one woman, but if it hadn't been for Jewell, many more would have been killed or injured.

Investigators wondered whether Jewell had planted the bomb deliberately to make himself look heroic and started checking him out in the first few days after the bombing. The FBI tried to con Jewell into a confession without telling him he was a suspect by asking him to make a "training video", a move which got some reprimanded when Jewell turned out to be innocent. Someone in the investigation leaked Jewell's name to the press, which started a feeding frenzy that Jewell himself likened to piranhas on a bleeding cow.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported him as a suspect, and the rest of the national media thundered to the wrong conclusions. News media ran stories that emphasized the fact that the 33-year-old Jewell shared a home with his mother, attempted psychological profiling, and followed him and his family constantly. It only ended when the FBI finally acknowledged three months later that they had screwed up in focusing on Jewell. Jewell sued most of them and won settlements from NBC and CNN, and he died before he could succeed against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It was an infuriating tragedy, and the lack of a clear suspect for months afterward meant that the stigma of the media's insinuations stuck with Jewell for a long time. Only after it became clear that Eric Rudolph committed the bombing -- fifteen months later -- did people realize the extent of the harm done to Jewell, his reputation, and his family.

Richard Jewell should be remembered as a hero, a man who had the instinct and the courage to risk his own life to save others. Unfortunately, many will still remember him in part from all the innuendo and mud thrown at him in the aftermath.

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Comments (24)

Posted by Jazz | August 30, 2007 7:20 AM

And for all that, the poor bastard was only getting paid about eight bucks an hour. Security guard, as an occupation, is turning into the "teacher" profession of the new age. Too little pay for what is increasingly becoming a critical, life or death position.

Condolences to his family.

Posted by Jim | August 30, 2007 7:25 AM

He is a perfect example of the federal government excesses we see on display, under an all too powerful Aschroft/Gonzales/Chenay thugocracy - ruining lives in conducting their maniacal so-called "war" on alleged "terror."

Oh wait......that all happened under the prior administration? Pre-911?

Never mind.

Posted by M. Murcek | August 30, 2007 7:27 AM

And today we have the "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" formulation. The media can be counted upon to turn pretty much every story upside down and inside out in the telling - Tookie Williams was a hero, the state that would execute him was a villain; The taliban built schools, roads and hospitals while we killed civilians (OK, Patty Murray said it, but the media latched onto the statement with unconcealed glee) and so forth. It's disheartening, and disgusting...

Posted by stackja1945 [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 30, 2007 7:32 AM

Media are the messengers. They kill the message.

Posted by onlineanalyst | August 30, 2007 7:38 AM

It's the old "Let no good deed go unpunished," and unfortunately the media are all too complicit in this trumpeting of "Gotcha!" The smear stays, and the retraction is lost down the memory hole.

Posted by Larry J | August 30, 2007 7:41 AM

I remember how a flock of media types swarmed around his driveway. They were a bunch of idiots. Do reporters who behave like that have any idea how stupidly they're behaving and how silly they look?

Posted by bulbasaur | August 30, 2007 7:46 AM

For all its preaching against stereotypes, the leftist press is pretty free wheeling in applying its own.

Posted by ted in bed | August 30, 2007 7:51 AM

Gov. Sonny Perdue did recognize Mr. Jewell in a formal ceremony 10 years after the blast. Unlike the previous Democrat Governor, Democrat President, Liberal Atlanta Journal/Constitution, unlike the corrupt FBI.

Govenor Perdue said, “The bottom line is this – Richard Jewell’s actions saved lives that day. He deserves to be remembered as a hero. As we look back on the success of the Olympics games and all they did to transform Atlanta, I encourage Georgians to remember the lives that were spared as a result of Richard Jewell’s actions.”

http://www.gov.state.ga.us/press/2006/press1221.shtml

Posted by Marc | August 30, 2007 7:51 AM

I recall thinking back then the problem with the investigation began when the stupid pseudo-science of "profiling" was used to give investigators direction. Analyzing bomb fragments is a science. Fingerprint analysis is a science. Analyzing surveillance tapes is a science. Profiling is a bunch of guys and gals speculating, possibly fed by their own bias, intolerance and prejudice, about who they think the bad guy might be.

May he rest in peace.

Posted by NahnCee | August 30, 2007 8:35 AM

Dying of diabetes and kidney-failure at 44 ... How unusual and odd. Had it been out of control and undiagnosed for a while?

Posted by Jim C | August 30, 2007 8:39 AM

Gee, somehow I think recognising him as a hero 10 years after the fact won't be much of a consolation. The media and the government did his family a great disservice.

Jim C

Posted by Les Nessman | August 30, 2007 8:40 AM

" Someone in the investigation leaked Jewell's name to the press, which started a feeding frenzy that Jewell himself likened to piranhas on a bleeding cow. "

And there is the critical point. A reporter and/or editor should have been ordered to reveal who the leaker was. If they refused, they should have been thrown in jail for contempt until they revealed the truth. The leaker should have been found out and done jail time.

Posted by Micah | August 30, 2007 8:44 AM

Hence the term "Drive By Media".

NahnCee,
how unusual and odd for you to change the subject.

Posted by F451 | August 30, 2007 9:49 AM

The AJC had this to say for themselves today:

'The Journal-Constitution... has contended that at the time it published its reports Jewell was a suspect, so the articles were accurate. The newspaper also has asserted that it was not reckless or malicious in its reports regarding Jewell. Much of Jewell's case was dismissed last year. One claim, based on reports about a 911 call, is pending trial.'

Translation: 'Hey! We just printed what our anonymous source down at the FBI told us! What were you expecting from us -- reporting?'

Posted by Robin S. | August 30, 2007 11:19 AM

I'm ashamed to admit this, but when I heard he'd died, I remembered only half of the story. My first thought was, "Isn't that the security guard who had planted a bomb to make himself look like a hero?" It wasn't until I clicked on the link and read the story that I remembered that he had, in fact, been cleared of that.

I had just graduated from high school when that happened, and wasn't really following current events, but it still shames me that I remembered this hero as a villain. I wonder how many other people only heard the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's accusations and not the fact of Jewell's innocence?

Posted by Robin S | August 30, 2007 11:21 AM

I'm ashamed to admit this, but when I heard he'd died, I remembered only half of the story. My first thought was, "Isn't that the security guard who had planted a bomb to make himself look like a hero?" It wasn't until I clicked on the link and read the story that I remembered that he had, in fact, been cleared of that.

I had just graduated from high school when that happened, and wasn't really following current events, but it still shames me that I remembered this hero as a villain. I wonder how many other people only heard the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's accusations and not the fact of Jewell's innocence?

Posted by Mark Grannis | August 30, 2007 12:45 PM

Beautifully written, and I think both Marc and Les Nessman make excellent points.

Robin S., as a lawyer who has spent the last few years trying to restore the reputation of a man who was wrongfully accused in much the same way as Jewell, your comment breaks my heart. But I can't say it surprises me. We can all condemn what happened to Jewell, and journalists can tsk-tsk over it and exhort each other to do better, but the sad fact is that unless our laws provide better protection for reputation, this could happen to any of us.

Posted by NahnCee | August 30, 2007 1:07 PM

Micah - I first was going to wonder if he was unable to afford medical attention and medications to keep his diabetes under control. Then I remembered that I thought he had sued several different people after he was exonerated, and wondered if he'd made any money out of those lawsuits -- enough to afford insulin, for example.

Reading his Wikipedia entry, he did indeed sue multiple people and institutions, and evidently made at least $500,000 in a settlement from one lawsuit. So that lack of medication or medical attention would not appear to be a factor in his death.

Therefore I repeat, dying of diabetes-related kidney-failure at the young age of 44 -- how odd. I wonder if stress was a complicating factor in his diabetes, and whether his survivors can now sue everyone all over again for killing him.

Posted by filistro | August 30, 2007 1:27 PM

Apparently nobody in here sees the slightest bit of irony in the fact that this particular story appears (literallly) just inches above the hysterical garbage down below about "Terrorists On a Ferry."

Well, that's just astonishing.

Posted by Lloyd | August 30, 2007 1:52 PM

After all this man went through, why did we ever believe a thing that the same reporters told us about Hurricane Katrina?

When will we learn to question the media as much or more than our politicians?

Posted by Sharpshooter | August 30, 2007 5:46 PM

Lloyd: "After all this man went through, why did we ever believe a thing that the same reporters told us about Hurricane Katrina?"

Unfortunately, yes, in many cases. An American people too lazy, anbivilent and lacking in critical thinking skills will continue to slurp it up.

Until the penalties become appropriately excruciating, such misconduct by priviledged sorts will continue and accellerate.

Real justice would have the AJC so financially crippled that they'd have to close and another more responsible news organization take its place.

As it is, playing games with peoples lives is just a part of our culture that is becoming more and more demented, statist, and "celebrity" oriented.


Changing political orientation is not going to change it, either.

Posted by poodlemom | August 30, 2007 6:15 PM

NahnCee,

I lost a very dear friend last fall to complications from diabetes. My friend was very cautious and careful (the disease had decimated members of his mother's side of the family). He had lost an uncle who died at age 34.

He was a chemical engineer who taught @ Texas A & M and someone who was a frequent traveler to the ME. He had just returned from a trip to the ME 2 days before he passed. He said to a companion "gosh, I'm tired" sat down on the sofa. When she returned from the kitchen he was gone.

He was wealthy so lack of treatment wasn't a factor in his life. He had undergone several crises, one time it was his vision, another time his kidneys....most of his problems were his heart (he was a patient of Dr. Michael DeBakey).

His favorite quote was one he attributed to Satchel Paige, i.e. "don't look back, the bastards might be gaining on ya".

Sometimes, even when you do all the right things, diet, meds etc. when you're dealing with diabetes it sometimes isn't enough....the body just gives out.

I lived in suburban Atlanta for 30+ years; I was there during the Olympics. It wasn't just the newspapers who crucified Jewell......all the Atlanta TV channels (and some from other cities) were merciless in their coverage. You couldn't escape the coverage unless you didn't turn on the TV or your car radio.

Yes indeed Richard Jewell, RIP.

Posted by RonM | August 31, 2007 8:03 AM

You would think that after this fiasco with Mr. Jewell that the Media would have learned. Nope! The Duke No-rape case shows us that nothing has changed. The really sad fact is that this is the rule not the exception.

Posted by swabjockey05 | August 31, 2007 3:06 PM

What's more "astonishing"...that the dingbat compares these two "stories"...or that I accidentally read her comment in the first place?

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