who was richard jewell's lawyer

by Dr. Leo Boehm II 7 min read

Who is Jewell's lawyer?

Well, what differs from reality is the movie’s portrayal of Bryant as Jewell’s one and only lawyer. Jewell actually had several lawyers. In fact, he had an entire team. In addition to Bryant, he had a legal team including Lin Wood, Wayne Grant, Jack Martin, Richard Rackleff, and Watson's brother Bruce, according to Slate.

When was Jewell exonerated?

Jewell was formally exonerated in 2005, two years before his death, when the real bomber Eric Rudolph was convicted. Editor's note: This story has been modified to reflect that Wood and Grant joined Jewell's legal team the day before a press conference was held to announce that Jewell passed a polygraph test.

Who played Watson Bryant in the movie?

As the FBI pegs him as a possible lone bomber, Jewell reaches out to his previous employer Watson Bryant (played by Sam Rockwell), who by this point is only working as a real estate lawyer. He’d never represented an alleged murderer, let alone someone accused of a domestic terror attack that killed two people and injured another 111.

Who is James Rawls?

James Rawls, an Atlanta-based lawyer who helped Mr. Wood with some of the Ramsey family matters, said working with him was easy “when we were all on the same team.”.

Who was the security guard who planted a pipe bomb?

Doug Collier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. Mr. Wood’s biggest break came in 1996 when he represented Mr. Jewell, a security guard wrongly suspected of planting a pipe bomb in Atlanta during the Summer Olympics that killed one person and injured more than 100 others.

Who is Ralph Reed?

Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a veteran of Georgia politics , said that control of the Senate was too important to squander. “I like Lin.

Who is Lin Wood?

The defamation lawyer L. Lin Wood has transformed into a fierce advocate for President Trump whose error-riddled lawsuits have promoted falsehoods about election fraud. Lin Wood, a lawyer who gained prominence through high-profile defamation cases, is now best known for amplifying the president’s false claims about the election.

Who is Lin Wood?

Lin Wood, a defamation lawyer who represented Jewell in lawsuits filed against The Journal-Constitution and other media outlets for defamation, spoke out against the movie’s portrayal of Scruggs. "I handled Richard Jewell's case against AJC for 16 years,” he tweeted.

Who plays Kathy Scruggs?

Olive Wilde as Kathy Scruggs Photo: Warner Bros. One of the lawyers who represented the man at the center of Clint Eastwood’s new movie “Richard Jewell” has blasted the film’s depiction of a female journalist. Before the film’s Friday debut, it had already been criticized for its vampy portrayal of Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy ...

Who is Richard Jewell?

For the architect, see Richard Roach Jewell. Richard Allensworth Jewell (born Richard White; December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard and law enforcement officer who alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in ...

Where was Richard Jewell born?

Jewell was born Richard White in Danville, Virginia, the son of Bobi, an insurance claims coordinator, and Robert Earl White, who worked for Chevrolet. Richard's birth-parents divorced when he was four. When his mother later married John Jewell, an insurance executive, his stepfather adopted him.

Who was the security guard at the 1996 Olympics?

Richard Allensworth Jewell (born Richard White; December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard and law enforcement officer who alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. For months afterwards he was suspected of planting the bomb, ...

Who sent Richard Jewell a letter?

On October 26, 1996, the US Attorney in Atlanta, Kent Alexander, sent Jewell a letter saying "based on the evidence developed to date ... Richard Jewell is not considered a target of the federal criminal investigation into the bombing on July 27, 1996, at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta". The letter did not include an apology, but in a separate statement issued by Alexander, the U.S. Justice Department regretted the leaking of the investigation.

Who wrote the book The Suspect?

It was written by Billy Ray, based on the 1997 article "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell," by Marie Brenner, and the book The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle (2019) by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen.

Who plays Richard Jewell in Manhunt?

Richard Jewell is portrayed by Cameron Britton.

Who planted the pipe bomb?

Sometime after midnight, July 27, 1996, Eric Robert Rudolph, a terrorist who would later bomb a lesbian nightclub and two abortion clinics, planted a green backpack containing a fragmentation-laden pipe bomb under a bench. Jewell was working as a security guard for the event.

Who was Richard Jewell's mother?

Richard Jewell loved movies, particularly anything with John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. Living with his mother, Bobi, in her Atlanta apartment, Jewell, who worked as a security guard, would sometimes tell her when there was a film he thought she’d like so they could watch it together. “His schedule was iffy — he was gone at night most ...

Who played Watson Bryant in Richard Jewell?

Watson Bryant and Bobi Jewell, who are portrayed by Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates in the new film “Richard Jewell,” photographed by The Times on Nov. 20, 2019, in West Hollywood.

Who is Clint Eastwood's director?

Eastwood was unavailable to comment for this story. Director Clint Eastwood with Bobi Jewell on the red carpet for the premiere of “Richard Jewell” at AFI Fest on Nov. 20. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) For his part, Rockwell says he doesn’t see the film in political terms at all.

Who is Josh Rottenberg?

Josh Rottenberg. Josh Rottenberg covers the film business for the Los Angeles Times. He previously worked as a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly, and his work has also appeared in the New York Times, Fast Company and other publications.

Who played Kathy Scruggs in the movie?

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has criticized the movie over its portrayal of the late reporter Kathy Scruggs, played by Olivia Wilde, saying it falsely depicts her as trading sex for information and demanding a disclaimer.

Who was the first libel lawyer?

Richard Jewell. Wood's first libel and defamation client was Richard Jewell, the security guard falsely accused in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta in 1996. Wood sued a number of media outlets, as well as Jewell's employer. Wood reached monetary settlements from Jewell's employer, CNN, and NBC, while Time published a clarification, ...

How much did the Sandmann lawsuit cost?

The suit was settled in 2015 for $450 million plus up to $45 million in fees . Wood is the lead attorney in Nicholas Sandmann 's defamation suits against a number of media companies, including CNN and The Washington Post.

Why did Wood lose the case against Unsworth?

The case was lost because the jury felt that Musk's tweet did not properly identify Unsworth, as he was not mentioned by name.

Where did Wood live in Georgia?

Wood lived in Atlanta, Georgia from 1955 until 2020. In April 2020 he purchased property in South Carolina, and moved there later that year. He formally changed his legal residency to South Carolina in February 2021. In February 2021, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger 's office announced that it was investigating the possibility that Wood had committed voter fraud due to questions over whether Wood had been a legal resident of the state when he cast his vote in the 2020 elections in Georgia. According to Georgia law, if someone moves to another state with the intention of establishing residence, they are no longer a resident of Georgia.

Who is Lin Wood?

Lucian Lincoln " Lin " Wood Jr. (born October 19, 1952) is an American attorney. Following his graduation from law school in 1977, Wood worked as a personal injury lawyer, focusing on medical malpractice litigation. He became known as a "celebrity lawyer" specializing in defamation lawsuits. Wood first drew media attention in relation ...

Who did Wood represent?

In addition to representing Jewell and President Trump, Wood has represented the family of JonBenét Ramsey and former U.S. representative Gary Condit in defamation suits. He was also hired by Republican political candidate Herman Cain to respond to allegations of sexual harassment.

How many sisters does Lin Wood have?

He stated that his family struggled financially, with frequent episodes of domestic abuse involving his parents. He has one sister, Diane Wood Stern, born February 1951, and a half-sister, Linda Martin, born in 1946. After a school dance, the then 16-year-old Wood returned home to find his father had beaten his mother to death. L. Lin Wood Sr. pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a charge reduced from first-degree murder. He served a little over two years in prison. Wood has stated that it was this experience that solidified his earlier decision to become a lawyer.

How did Richard Jewell die?

Richard Jewell died in 2007 at age 44 from heart failure. Fox Nation's "Hero for a Moment " also detailed how the FBI settled on Jewell as their primary suspect and what happened when an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter broke the story.

Who is Richard Jewell's mother?

Richard Jewell's mother Bobi and his attorney Watson Bryant react to the true story of the 1996 Olympic bombing being told on the big screen. Nearly 25 years after she lived through "88 days of hell," Bobi Jewell's emotions seem just as raw as they were when her son, Richard Jewell, was first identified as the main suspect behind ...

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Overview

Richard Allensworth Jewell (born Richard White; December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard and law enforcement officer who alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He discovered a backpack containing three pipe bombson the park grounds and helped evacuate the area before the bomb exp…

Early life

Jewell was born Richard White in Danville, Virginia, the son of Bobi, an insurance claims coordinator, and Robert Earl White, who worked for Chevrolet. Richard's birth parents divorced when he was four. When his mother later married John Jewell, an insurance executive, his stepfather adopted him.

Olympic bombing accusation

Centennial Olympic Park was designed as the "town square" of the Olympics, and thousands of spectators had gathered for a late concert and merrymaking. Sometime after midnight, July 27, 1996, Eric Robert Rudolph, a terrorist who would later bomb a lesbian nightclub and two abortion clinics, planted a green backpack containing a fragmentation-laden pipe bomb under a bench. Jewell was working as a security guard for the event. He discovered the bag and alerted Georgia …

Subsequent life, career and public appearances

Jewell worked in various law enforcement jobs, including as a police officer in Pendergrass, Georgia. He worked as a deputy sheriff in Meriwether County, Georgia, until his death. He also gave speeches at colleges. On July 30, 1997, Jewell testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives in which he called for an independent investigation into methods used by FBI agents during their investigation of him. He appeared in Michael Moore's 1997 film The Big One. …

Libel cases

After he was dropped as a suspect, Jewell filed libel suits against the FBI, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, the New York Post, and Piedmont College.
Jewell sued the Atlanta Journal-Constitution because, according to Jewell, the paper's headline ("FBI suspects 'hero' guard may have planted bomb") "pretty much started the whirlwind". In one article, the Journal-Constitution compared Jewell's case to that of serial killer Wayne Williams.

Media portrayals

Richard Jewell, a biographical drama film, was released in the United States on December 13, 2019. The film was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. It was written by Billy Ray, based on the 1997 article "American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell," by Marie Brenner, and the book The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle (2019) by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen. Jewell is played by Paul Walter Hauser.

Death

Jewell had been diagnosed with diabetes in February 2007 and suffered kidney failure and other medical problems related to his diagnosis in the following months. His wife, Dana, found him dead on the floor of their bedroom when she came home from work on August 29, 2007; he was 44. An autopsy found the cause of death to be severe heart disease with diabetes and related complications as a contributing factor.

See also

• Centennial Olympic Park bombing