Richard Jewell was falsely accused of planting a bomb at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Do any of you remember the post that I wrote about him? If not, you may read it just here.
(I also wrote a post earlier about him. If I am able to link to that one, I will come back and add it later.)
Clint Eastwood has directed a film about him and it will be released on Dec. 13, 2019. Just looking at the trailer, it looks as if it might be a good film, a respectful film. I hope so. I should say more about him here but I just hope you will read the post that I wrote in 2016 that I directed you to above. I titled that post "Unsung HERO at the 1996 Summer Olympics". One thing that I have not mentioned in my writings about Richard Jewell is that I am a native Georgian and ...this is hard for me to express...but he could be a cousin of mine, or some relative, he sounds just like my male relatives. And listening to the actor doing the Southern accent, I just want to say that it sounds as if he has nailed it. (I must admit that very often actors will WAY overdo a Southern accent and get it so horribly wrong that it will illicit a laugh here at a theatre.)
Now, I am very critical of films which you know if you read my blog but before I start speaking of a film which I really haven't even SEEN yet, I want to say that we must not forget that this movie is about a real person who suffered greatly. There might be Oscar buzz about this and great tributes paid to the actors and director but we must not forget the real people behind the story. (His poor mother, how much she must have suffered!) Diabetes is listed as the cause of death for Richard Jewell but I cannot help but think that all the trauma that he went through with the feeling that the whole world was against him must have contributed to his early death at the age of 44.
What a sad life! I feel sorry for people who are unjustly accused of something. And he did save lives by alerting people about the pipe bomb.
ReplyDeleteHe did save lives. I hope that will be shown in the new film.
DeleteThis was such a sad story. I hope the movie will be well done and successful. But it is really a heartbreaking story which should never have happened.
ReplyDeleteI so much agree. And when things like this happen, we need to remember so it won't happen again.
DeleteYes, I remember this and your previous posts -- I'll watch for the movie, thanks for the heads-up about it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debra! I hope it will be well done.
DeletePeople wanted a fast ending to that terrible act. Authorities were only too happy to oblige. I believe in swift justice, I also believe in JUSTICE.
ReplyDeleteI know. I will never forget people saying, "He fits the profile!"
DeleteSad for him, he trusted those in authority and thought they would see that he was telling them the truth when he told them he had nothing to do with the bomb.
I had to go back and read your 2016 post to remind myself of who Richard Jewell was. Were it not for your blog, I would have never heard about him.
ReplyDeleteYes, the media are responsible for much unnecessary pain and suffering. Many people have had false rumours or accusation about them in the press and on TV, and it certainly has become even easier to spread them by social media. All of this, even if someone is cleared later, is definitely destroying the lives of those affected.
Here in Germany, we have the case of a once famous and popular TV weather man who was accused of rape by an ex lover. The woman was so contradictory in her statements and clearly scornful of her former lover that it should have been obvious from the start to those leading the investigation. But it took years for the weather man to be cleared, and there are still nasty voices saying who knows, there might have been something to it... And the woman? She made a lot of money selling her "true story" to the media.
What you just said there...it reminds me of Lin Wood, the lawyer for Richard Jewell, saying that people would come up to him and say, "Come on, didn't he really do it?". This, after it was proven to be someone else.
DeleteWith DNA evidence, prisoners have been set free but sometimes not until years after they have been in prison. It must be the hardest thing in the world to be accused of a crime that you didn't commit. (And sometimes sent to prison for it.)
I didn't read about this. Now you've intrigued my curiosity No doubt that that kind of stress could contribute to an early death, but who knows?
ReplyDeleteOf course, this was at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 so I remember it very well. I once met Richard Jewell and his lawyer, Lin Wood at a Rotary Club meeting here in Rockdale County. Richard Jewell was a soft-spoken Southern guy who still looked as if he couldn't believe what had happened to him. He died a few years after I met him.
DeleteThat does sound like an interesting movie. I always feel very concerned for the possibility of wrongful accusation - Australia has had a number of these cases too. Innocent people can have their lives destroyed.
ReplyDeleteWrongful accusation...I know a lawyer who does not believe in the death penalty. When I asked him why, he said that he had seen too many cases when they got it wrong (and the person should not have been convicted because they were innocent.)
DeleteYes, i remember your post about him, he was treated most shamefully and deserved better.
ReplyDeleteI think so too, hope the film will honor his memory.
DeleteI remember your other post. What a sobering story. I hope the film does justice to his story, and directs the focus where it is most deserved.
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a pleasant autumn, Kay!
Hey Sue!
Delete"Directs the focus where it is most deserved", that is it exactly!
Hope you are having a pleasant autumn, also. I have had some "issues" the past 2 months but hope things will sort out soon!