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Panel recalls FBI, AJC roles in
case of Richard Jewell, Olympics
bombing hero turned suspect
BYJOHNRUCH
johnruch@reportemewspapers.net
One of the dark moments in Atlan
ta’s history, the 1996 Summer Olympics
bombing, grew darker still when the FBI
and major media wrongly fingered he
roic security guard
Richard Jewell as
the bomber. A Nov.
12 panel discussion
at the Atlanta His
tory Center about
“The Suspect,” a
new book telling
Jewell’s story, was
a historic moment
in itself, gathering
significant figures
from the case on
stage and in the au
dience.
Drawing a
crowd of hundreds,
the event was partly
a preemptive strike
on how Atlanta
may be portrayed
in Clint Eastwood’s
upcoming movie about Jewell, partly a lec
ture on history and Jewell’s life, and partly
an emotional reflection on an investiga
tion gone astray while the real bomber es
caped to continue his crimes. Jewell died
at age 44 in 2007.
“The Suspect” co-authors Kent Alexan
der, who was Atlanta’s chief federal pros
ecutor at the time, and Kevin Salwen, the
Wall Street Journal's regional editor dur
ing the Olympics, were on the panel. So
was Bert Roughton, a former Atlanta Jour
nal-Constitution editor involved in the pa
per’s decision to reveal Jewell as the FBI’s
suspect. Roughton said it was the first
time he had discussed the controversial
story before an audience.
“I know that a lot of people second-
guess and say, ‘Oh, we would never do
that,”’ said Roughton about publishing the
Jewell scoop, based on leaked information
obtained by the late reporter Kathy Scrug
gs. “I don’t believe that there’s a red-blood
ed American journalist who, in that same
set of circumstances, wouldn’t have gone
ahead and published the story. ...That’s
not to say that what happened to Richard
Jewell after that wasn’t awful.
“There was absolutely a rush to judg
ment in the media and law enforce
ment...,” said Alexander, while also de
scribing Jewell as a valid suspect. “So, rush
to judgment, yes. But should Richard Jew
ell have been a suspect? Yes, also.”
Among those in the audience were
Watson Bryant, Jewell's defense attor
ney; Dana Jewell, the widow of Richard;
Bill Rankin, an AJC reporter who co-wrote
a crucial story casting doubt on Jewell’s
guilt; and George Hamilton, who said he
was Scruggs’ partner before her death in
2001 at age 42.
During the discussion, panel moder
ator John Pruitt, a former WSB-TV news
anchor, read a Facebook post from Dana
Jewell praising the book and saying, “I
made a promise to Richard when he died,
I would tell his story.”
The Olympics were a watershed mo
ment for Atlanta, stirring local pride, at
tracting international media attention,
building venues ranging from modern
landmarks to white elephants, and spark
ing massive downtown redevelopment
and gentrification. The History Center is
the official repository of Games artifacts
and is in the midst of remaking its Olym
pics exhibit for a 2020 debut.
The bombing is part of that history,
and commemorations of Jewell’s heroic
role are increasing. On July 27,1996, ter
rorist Eric Rudolph planted a pipe bomb
in Centennial Olympic Park. Jewell, a se
curity guard who lived on Buford High
way, discovered the bomb and led an ef
fort to clear the area before it exploded.
One person was killed and many injured,
but Jewell’s effort is credited with sav
ing many more lives. Rudolph went on to
bomb an Atlanta lesbian bar and abortion
clinics in Sandy Springs and Alabama,
killing two more people, and became a fu
gitive until his 2003 capture. The Georgia
World Congress Center recently said that
a plaque honoring Jewell will be placed in
the park next year, according to the Atlan
ta Business Chronicle.
A new take on the bombing and its af
termath is about to enter popular cul
ture: Eastwood’s movie “Richard Jewell” is
scheduled for release on Dec. 13. In a re
cent AJC essay, Roughton voiced anxiety
about how the film might portray Jewell
and Scruggs.
Pruitt echoed that sentiment early in
the panel discussion, cautioning that the
film “will be Hollywood’s version of what
happening in our town in that horrible
time.” He said Alexander and Salwen’s
book gives the “truly objective” story.
Alexander noted that he and Salwen
served as advisers on Eastwood’s project,
though they have yet to see it. “I would
SPECIAL
Richard Jewell, right, joined by attorney L. Lin Wood at a
2006 event where Jewell was honored by Gov. Sonny Perdue
as a rescue hero of the Atlanta Olympics bombing.