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Late night Sunday I Noon until 10 pm www.thehavanacigarlounge.com 'efMow @ us on Find us on I Facebook t 6010 Sandy Springs Circle Sandy Springs, GA 30328 1404-500-2483 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.
