Richard Jewell is an American police officer and security worker who was falsely accused of committing a terrorist attack at the Atlanta Olympics, which he himself reported to the police. His biography became the basis for the biographical drama of Clint Eastwood.

Biography of Richard Jewell

Born Richard White was born December 17, 1962 in an ordinary family. His mother, Bobby, worked as an insurance coordinator, and his father, Robert Earl White, was a worker at a Chevrolet factory. When the boy was 4 years old, mom and dad divorced. Richard grew up with his stepfather – soon his mother married the head of the insurance company John Jewell, who adopted the boy. The guy graduated from Towers High School in 1982. Little is known about Rich’s further life (before the unfortunate event at the Olympics), he worked in the police, security services, and also in the supply department of the US Small Business Administration. It was in management that he met Watson Bryant, who worked as a lawyer for the agency. The two quickly became friends and met almost daily during their lunch break at the CNN Center.

Richard Jewell and the real story of the terrorist attack: fame and scourging from the media

Centenary Olympic Park in Atlanta was the main area for walking and entertainment during the 1996 Summer Olympics. Jewell was then working as a security guard and while inspecting the area, he discovered a backpack with pipe bombs, immediately reporting this to the police. It was after midnight on July 27th. Thanks to Richard’s discovery and the timely response of law enforcement agencies, hundreds of lives were saved. He notified the police 9 minutes before the real (as it turned out) terrorist, Eric Robert Rudolph, called. An emergency evacuation was made, but shrapnel killed one person – Alice Hawthorne from Albany (Georgia), more than 100 were injured. Another victim of the attack was a Turkish operator who died of a heart attack. The poor man ran very fast to hide from the explosion, but his heart could not stand it.

At first, the media praised Jewell as the savior of hundreds of Americans. However, three days later everything turned upside down. One publication wrote an article reporting Richard as the FBI’s prime suspect in connection with the terrorist attack. Further, the media began to promote the version of a “lone maniac”, a man who did not take place in the police service and decided to plant a bomb on purpose, so that later he would discover it and become a hero. The Feds didn’t go after him either: although the man wasn’t formally charged, they thoroughly searched his house twice, got to the bottom of his past, and watched Richard 24/7.

The level of pressure only eased when the victim’s lawyers hired a former FBI officer to assist in the polygraph work on Jewell. More than two months passed at this wild pace. In October 1996, US Attorney’s Office investigator Kent Alexander wrote a letter to Richard, where he officially announced that he was not the object of criminal prosecution in connection with the tragic night events of July 27th. Eric Robert Rudolph was later convicted of the bombing (he organized several more terrorist attacks).

After the official clarification, the security guard began to fight the media that slandered him.

Jewell has sued the following media:

• NBC News;
• New York Post;
• Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Rich also filed a lawsuit against Piedmont College, where he used to work. College officials, in his opinion, provided false information to the feds, calling him a fan of police awards and a person who exaggerates his achievements.

None of the defendants objected to Richard, except for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the publication from which the persecution actually began. The final decision was made after the death of the plaintiff – the court decided that the articles were generally true at the time of publication, and, despite the fact that the suspicions of the investigators turned out to be unfounded, these materials cannot serve as a basis for filing a libel suit.

An interesting fact: the hero of this article was nicknamed “Radar”.

Personal life of Richard Jewell
Richard was married to Dana Jewell. His wife practically did not get in touch with journalists. Once, in a telephone interview, Dana said that her husband never left the torment of conscience due to the fact that he failed to save everyone.

“He felt like he didn’t do enough.”

Cause of death of Jewell

The hero died on August 29, 2007 from complications caused by diabetes. Perhaps his state of health was affected by the stress experienced during the pressure of the FBI and unjustified harassment by the media.

In the fall of 2019, it was decided to posthumously award the hero of the 1996 incident with a commemorative plaque in the Centenary Olympic Park.

Film “The Case of Richard Jewell”

The famous director and actor Clint Eastwood directed the biopic “The Case of Richard Jewell”, the world premiere of which took place on December 13, 2019. This dramatic feature film with thriller elements was released in Russian and Ukrainian distribution at the beginning of 2020. Interestingly, the production team of the project included Leonardo DiCaprio. Paul Walter Houser (much like the real Richard) played the title role, and Sam Rockwell became attorney Watson Bryant (as noted above, Jewell’s real-life defense was starring Lyn Wood, and Bryant was Richard’s lawyer and close associate).

What differences between the plot of the film and the real story did you find? Feel free to write in the comments!