Honor follows after false suspicion
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 1, 2006
ATLANTA – Richard Jewell, the security guard who was branded a suspect after the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics, was honored at the state Capitol on Tuesday, 10 years later, for saving lives by moving people out of harm’s way just before the blast.
The state Legislature issued a proclamation honoring Jewell in 1998, but it was not presented in person; it came in the mail. Gov. Sonny Perdue sought to change that when he invited Jewell to receive another award from the governor himself.
Jewell was initially hailed as a hero for spotting a suspicious backpack containing the bomb and moving people away just before it exploded.
“I never sought to be a hero,” Jewell said Tuesday. “I wish I could have done more.”
But three days after the July 27 blast killed one and wounded 111 others, an unattributed report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Jewell as “the focus” of the investigation. Other news organizations also linked Jewell to the bombing investigation.
He was never arrested or charged. Now 43, he works as a sheriff’s deputy in rural Meriwether County.
The real bomber, it turned out, was anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph, who also planted other bombs in the Atlanta area and in Birmingham, Ala., that killed a police officer, maimed a nurse and wounded several others. He is serving life in prison.
The governor’s award read: “Mr. Jewell deserves to be remembered as a hero for the actions he performed during the Centennial Olympic Games. He is a model citizen, and the state of Georgia thanks him for his long-standing commitment to law enforcement.” The award said that “many lives were spared due to the efforts of Richard Jewell.”
Associated Press
Former Olympic security guard Richard Jewell (left) reads a statement after Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue honored him on Tuesday with a belated commendation for his services to the state of Georgia during the 1996 Olympic games.
