Richard Jewell

[Yavin4]

Richard A. Jewell (December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American police officer who, while working as a security guard for Piedmont College,[1] became known in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Discovering a pipe bomb on the park grounds, Jewell alerted police and helped to evacuate the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or death. Initially hailed by the media as a hero, Jewell was later considered a suspect. Jewell's case is considered an example of the damage that can be done by reporting based on unreliable or incomplete information.[2]

Despite having never being charged, he underwent a "trial by media" with great toll on his personal and professional life. Eventually he was completely exonerated; Eric Robert Rudolph was later found to have been the bomber.[3][4] In 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue publicly thanked Jewell on behalf of the state of Georgia for saving the lives of those at the Olympics.[5]

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

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. That's the name that came to mind to me this morning.

One of the reasons why it is so dangerous to speculate about anyone until all the facts are known.

Poor guy, Richard Jewell. It really was tragic what he had to go through.

[Nay]

7. It wasn't wild speculation on discussion boards that destroyed Jewell -- it was, IIRC, the FBI

going hog wild over its unsupported theory that the person who found the bomb was the bomber, who wanted to appear to be a hero. This scenario happens once in a while, but you still have to prove it!

As I remember, the FBI had nothing, no proof, and the FBI trashed Jewell in the newspapers. Jewell later won a large settlement for this outrageous behavior by the FBI. The papers, in my mind, were pretty blameless since they were reporting what the FBI said, not knowing that there was no evidence to back up the accusations. This is similar to the district attorneys all over this country who railroad people into jail for crimes they did not commit in order to have a good conviction record. It's no more than outsized egos destroying everything in their paths.

To me, it is perfectly acceptable to speculate on boards like DU about who the bombers are. We are not involved in solving the crime; we're just interested bystanders, trying to solve a mystery in our own little way, trying to see if the clues we have so far leads us to certain types of people. Lots of us are people watchers, psychology hobbyists, mystery readers, political nuts, etc., and we are simply honing our skills as we sit in our chairs in front of the internet. We have NO influence over who gets arrested, who gets tried in the newspapers, etc. We are simply interested in seeing if our deductive and inductive skills can peg the bad guys. I don't know why some people here think we shouldn't speculate. Do you think the cops aren't using speculation, along with the evidence, to catch the bomber(s)? One hopes that those who are charged with finding the bomber won't fixate on someone due to speculation only, but that doesn't apply to us out here on DU.

P.S. I just read a bit about Jewell to refresh my memory--he won lawsuits against the newspapers, and the FBI issued a formal apology, so I amend my statement that the newspapers were somewhat blameless. It looks like they trashed the poor guy, too.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

2. After the harm caused to Jewell, was anyone held responsible for such harm?

[Hoyt]

4. I think he actually did get a settlement in a law suit. Don't know the details.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

5. No one fired? No false accusers arrested and sent to jail?

The quick-let's-do-something-stupid crowd always seem to get away with it. They never seem to be held accountable for pushing in the wrong direction.

The quick-let's-invade-Iraq-for-an-attack-caused-by-others crowd never suffered any consequences.

The quick-let's-take-away-firearms-from-law-abiding-people crowd don't even seemed to have received a sufficient amount of criticism to inhibit them pushing in that direction.

[RT Atlanta]

11. Richard Jewell v. Cox Enterprises (d.b.a. Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

from the same Wikipedia entry:

Jewell also sued the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. According to Jewell, the paper's headline, FBI suspects 'hero' guard may have planted bomb, "pretty much started the whirlwind".[10] In one article, the Atlanta Journal compared Richard Jewell's case to that of serial killer Wayne Williams.[14][15]

The newspaper was the only defendant that did not settle with Jewell. The lawsuit remained pending for several years, after having been considered at one time by the Supreme Court of Georgia, and had become an important part of case law regarding whether journalists could be forced to reveal their sources. The case was dismissed by Judge John R. Mather in December 2007, four months after Jewell's death. The paper claimed this was proof of the accuracy of their coverage.[16]

[Buzz Clik]

3. +1

Quick to judgment is a mistake that is repeated endlessly.

[BeeBee]

6. Thank you. I was trying to remember his name.

He was the first person I thought of when people started wild speculation yesterday.

[MrBig]

8. Well worth remembering him

Tragic what happened

[alarimer]

9. Right-wingers hid and supported Rudolph for years.

We have to be aware a similar thing might happen this time.

[AgainsttheCrown]

10. Good thing...

He wasn't assassinated based on today's version of "due process."