Jewell's reputation ruined

The head-hunter tactics of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the ravenous behavior of the television media have all but ruined the lives of some of its not-so-private citizens.

In this latest installment of as the lives are ruined, Richard Jewell is the star.

Jewell, 33, was once a private citizen. He worked as a security guard in Atlanta who had the opportunity to work at the '96 Summer Olympic Games.

Jewell reported seeing a bomb in the Centennial Olympic Park, where he was guarding. What started out as a man doing his duty, ended up as a man being persecuted for doing what he should have been doing.

In the Oct. 29 Los Angeles Times, it states that the FBI relied solely on circumstantial evidence in order to obtain research warrants.

In an almost unprecedented action, Jewell was made a prime suspect in the July 27 bombing of Centennial Olympic Park during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta before being arrested.

They completely ransacked his home, confiscating his belongings to labs to be tested for residue from bomb-making materials.

For three months, Jewell's reputation was maligned by the media as daily and then weekly accounts of the FBI's investigation continued.

Finally, he was found innocent.

The only restitution the FBI felt fit to bestow on Jewell was a simple letter stating their apology.

Jewell is left jobless, bitter and suspect in his community and the nation. But as of press time, the FBI has not given a public statement of apology.

Others have been maligned by investigators and the media, such as O.J. Simpson, Woody Allen and William Kennedy Smith. Though some still question whether these men were actually innocent, due to their financial security and name status, they can bounce back.

But for Jewell and others like him, having their names dragged through the mud is potentially damaging for a lifetime.