Lady Liberty Defended: Richard Jewell Dies

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Richard Jewell Dies

Richard Jewell found dead; natural causes cited By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY Aug 29, 2007

ATLANTA — Richard Jewell, the former security guard who was briefly a suspect in the 1996 Olympics bombing here and later cleared of wrongdoing, was found dead Wednesday in his home, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and a county coroner.
Jewell, 44, was found dead around 10:30 a.m. by his wife, Dana, who had been unable to reach him by phone, said Meriwether County Coroner Johnny Worley. "He died of natural causes," Worley said. "He had been at home sick for several months."

First thing I think we should thank God for men such as Richard Jewell. He likely saved lives at the Olympics when radical anti-abortion terrorist Eric Rudolph placed a bomb in Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

There are a couple of cautionary lessons to be learned from his life. First, if you're an up and coming journalist be a journalist and verify both your sources and consider your information before going to print. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cited unnamed law enforcement sources as saying Jewell was a "focus" of the bombing investigation. This is a textbook example of piss poor journalism and I doubt that the resulting public ostracism Jewell experienced helped his life expectancy.

The second caution is about diabetes. Type II diabetes is a debilitating disease that can advance quickly and maim and kill. If you suspect you've got diabetes get to the doctor and get tested. Please, if you've got it, treat it.

Links:
- American Diabetes Association

Labels: Culture