Hero security guard wrongly accused as bombing suspect dies
Richard Jewell the hero security guard turned Olympic bombing suspect dies at age 44 of natural causes at his Georgia home.On July 27 1996 during the Summer Games in Atlanta a pipe bomb with nails went off in crowded Centennial Olympic Park killing one woman and injuring 111 other people.Shortly before the explosion Richard Jewell who was working as a temporary security guard in the area discovered a suspicious-looking backpack abandoned beneath a park bench.Jewell alerted police to the backpack which held a bomb and moved people out of harms way before it exploded.
In the aftermath of the bombing Jewell was praised as a hero for his actions.However three days later the media reported that Jewell was being investigated as a suspect in the case.Although he was never arrested or charged with any crime for the next three months Jewell faced intense scrutiny from both law enforcement officials and the media who combed through his background and tracked his movements.
Even after the Justice Department officially cleared Jewell of any involvement in the bombing in late October 1996 some people still viewed him with suspicion.Jewell later filed libel lawsuits against several major media companies and reached settlements with CNN and NBC among others.Before his death on August 29 2007 Jewell who suffered from diabetes and other health problems worked as a sheriffs deputy in Georgia.In 2006 during the 10-year anniversary of the Atlanta Olympics Georgia governor Sonny Perdue publicly commended Jewell for saving lives at Centennial Park.In May 2003 police in North Carolina captured Eric Rudolph the real person responsible for the Olympic bombing as well as the bombings of several abortion clinics and a gay bar.
Rudolph who eluded law enforcement authorities for years by living in the Appalachian wilderness eventually pled guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to life in prison.
