Posted on 03/24/2012 6:06:07 PM PDT by hiho hiho
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,
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.
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.”
The investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement officers lasted until late October 1996 and included a number of bungled tactics, including an F.B.I. agent’s effort to question Mr. Jewell on camera under the pretense of making a training film.
In October 1996, when it became obvious that Mr. Jewell had not been involved in the bombing, the Justice Department formally cleared him.
Even after being cleared, Mr. Jewell said he never felt he could outrun his notoriety. He sued several major news media outlets and won settlements from NBC and CNN. His libel case against his primary nemesis, Cox Enterprises, the Atlanta newspaper’s parent company, wound through the courts for a decade without resolution, though much of it was dismissed along the way.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Never learn do they
Thought this was a bizarre coincidence, but now I see the story is almost 5 years old.
Timing, huh?
G-dspeed, Mr. Jewell.
Wow, that’s a strange coincidence. Hannity mentioned this the other night...how people went after Mr. Jewell and he wasn’t guilty. Tried and convicted him in the newsmedia, just like George Zimmerman.
Note the date.
I thought it was a coincidence, too. Still, the lessons still apply.
Note the date of the article. This did not just happen.
I know.
Why not post it in breaking, it is only a five year old story.
Oops, didn’t know that he had died.
Still it’s best to remember and to remind folks of what happened to him.
The drive-bys at their usual - stirring up mayhem.
Pull it
Yeah, I did. Oops.
The article shouldn’t be pulled. The date should just be noted in the headline. Hannity did mention Richard Jewell a few nights ago on TV. People, namely the media, haven’t learned their lessons and Mr. Jewell is a good reminder.
Do I have to spell it out? “Old” article, but the NY Times admits to “excesses of ... the news media.”
Think of the current Zimmerman case.
have the mod pull this
Wasn’t the NYT leading the way in condemning Jewell?
“have the mod pull this”
Do it your self!
Speak like me you do.
It DOES NOT need to be pulled. Just needs a date in the headline.
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