The basic story is well-known, at least for those of us who remember the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. . Richard Allensworth Jewell was a heavyset Georgia boy who lived with his single mom and aspired to be a lawman (he had, in fact briefly served as a Deputy Sheriff [and, as depicted in the film, a portrait of him in uniform really did hang in his mother's apartment]) and is fired from his job as a security guard at a small private college when he actually enforces laws against underage drinking in the dorm. Since the Olympics were coming to town there will be, as a friend points out to him, plenty of security work and so it was that Jewell found himself at Centennial Olympic Park on the evening of 27 July 1996.
Jewell, who was very diligent (to the point of being a bit of an eager beaver) in his job as a security guard and wanted to be accepted into the law enforcement fraternity of which he'd once been a member, discovered a backpack and reported the same. While police initially dismissed it it turned out that there were three large pipe bombs therein (a threat had been telephoned in to the Atlanta Police Department at roughly the same time, but it was one of numerous, most of which turned out to be hoaxes -- his was not). The bombs detonate, directly killing one person (another died of a heart attack as a result of the panic) and injuring 111 people.
I found that the coverage of that brought back many memories.Although I was living in South Carolina I was also spending a good bit of time in Augusta, Georgia, and it was impossible to be in the Southeast and not be aware of the Olympics -- while I didn't follow them closely as the political correctness that had accompanied them had turned me off -- the coverage was everywhere. I remember being up late, possibly preparing a sermon (I was in seminary t the time and preached most Sundays [more than I do of late, sadly]) when coverage of the explosion came over the television.
Richard Jewell was intially hailed as a hero but that quickly changed when the Atlanta Journal Constituion reported that he was being investigated by the FBI as a suspect with the suggestion being that he had palnted the bomb in an attempt to engineer an incident where he could be the hero, a so-called lone-wolf. Jewell's life changes forever.
Over the next three months the case is tried in the media and the FBI engages in questionable practices in order to press their case. It is at this point that the film takes a bit of license with the historical record. First of all, there was no agent named Tom Shaw (portrayed by Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame), although he may have been a composite of several individuals. Furthermore, white there really was a reporter for the AJC named Kathy Scruggs who was an attractive blonde -- she'd dated Lewis Grizzard (but then I'd imagine a good number of attractive single women of a certain age in Atlanta dated Lewis Grizzard, particularly if they worked for the AJC) -- and was known as a hard charging reporter, she died of an overdose in 2001 and her family and friends have disputed the portrayal of her as exchanging sexual favors for the infomation that Jewell was a person of interest.
Over the next three months the case is tried in the media and the FBI engages in questionable practices in order to press their case. It is at this point that the film takes a bit of license with the historical record. First of all, there was no agent named Tom Shaw (portrayed by Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame), although he may have been a composite of several individuals. Furthermore, white there really was a reporter for the AJC named Kathy Scruggs who was an attractive blonde -- she'd dated Lewis Grizzard (but then I'd imagine a good number of attractive single women of a certain age in Atlanta dated Lewis Grizzard, particularly if they worked for the AJC) -- and was known as a hard charging reporter, she died of an overdose in 2001 and her family and friends have disputed the portrayal of her as exchanging sexual favors for the infomation that Jewell was a person of interest.
However she got the information, she did and in the race for a scoop he found himself hounded by the press. Ever wanting to cooperate with law enforcement,Jewell repeatedly talks to the FBI against the advice of G. Watson Bryant, his attorney (another point of license, for most of the case Bryant, whose practice focuses on real estate law, and really did marry his assistant Nadya), wisely sought the assistance of Jack Martin, a more experienced criminal defense lawyer who does not appear in the film), Jewell is eventually exonerated (Eric Rudolph, a true lone-wolf who later bombed an abortuary, later confessed to the crime), won several lawsuits, married, and worked in law enforcement prior to sadly dying a the early age of 44 from complications related to heart disease and diabetes
There are several take-aways from the film:
--Paul Walter Hauser, who plays Jewell, does a masterful job. Jewell's mother Bobbi, who is still living and was portrayed by Kathy Bates, commented that despite the fact that she and her son had never met she had her son's mannerisms down to a tee.
--I am not a lawyer but have a number of friends who are and have also taken classes on legal considerations in the event that I, as a Concealed Weapons Permit holder who often carries have to defend myself, and the advice from both has been consistent: If you're being questioned by law enforcement shut up and lawyer up, even if you're innocent. Jewell disregarded that advice even after being bluntly told to do so by Bryant and the consequences are dire indeed.
--Finally, there legal and journalistic ethics come seriously into play. I'm about as pro-law enforcement as they come, but if the portrayal of how the FBI took advantage of Jewell's naivete and desire to cooperate with those whose acceptance he craved -- and apparently it is -- then the conduct of those agents was beyond the pale.
--Finally, there legal and journalistic ethics come seriously into play. I'm about as pro-law enforcement as they come, but if the portrayal of how the FBI took advantage of Jewell's naivete and desire to cooperate with those whose acceptance he craved -- and apparently it is -- then the conduct of those agents was beyond the pale.
The thrashing he took in the media was at least as shameful. Ridiculed for his appearance and circumstances, they created and tried a caricature of the man and once the toothpaste was out of that tube it's awfully hard to make right.
Go and see the movie and take note of the lessons to be learned therein. Centennial Olympic Park is still in Atlanta and if one visits one will note thousands of engraved bricks that mark those who made donations to the construction of the park and a plaque commemorating the 20th anniversary of the games; I think they need a statue commemorating a good man who did his duty to the best of his ability, saved numerous lives, and paid dearly for doing so.
Postscript: The Atlanta Business Chronicle will honor Jewell with a plaque in Centennial Olympic Park next March. That;s a long overdue start, but I still think a statue would be in order.
Postscript: The Atlanta Business Chronicle will honor Jewell with a plaque in Centennial Olympic Park next March. That;s a long overdue start, but I still think a statue would be in order.
