Yes, the media is quite powerful. They finally memorialized him as a hero. Two nice things to remember about Richard Jewell before he leaves the public conscience.....
"Each anniversary of the 1996 Olympic bombing, Richard Jewell would slip away, usually at night when no one was looking, to place a rose and a card where spectator Alice Hawthorne was killed."...
Richard Jewell is memorialized a hero
On July 4, 2001 Richard Jewell was the Grand Marshall for a July 4th parade in Carmel, Indiana. The theme of the parade was "Unsung Heroes".