Richard Jewell, Hero of Olympic Park Bombing, Dead

Drudge describes him as the "man the media murdered":

Richard Jewell, the Centennial Olympic Park security guard once suspected - but later cleared - in the bombing of the park during the 1996 Summer Games, was found dead Wednesday in his home in Meriwether County. He was 44.

County coroner Johnny Worley said Jewell's wife discovered him dead in their Woodbury home at about 10:30 a.m., and he was pronounced dead by Worley about 45 minutes later.

Worley said an autopsy would be performed by the GBI to determine how Jewell died, but added there was "no suspicion of foul play.

"He had been having some pretty serious medical problems," Worley said.

He said Jewell had been diagnosed with diabetes in February and had a couple of toes amputated.

"He had been going downhill ever since," Worley said.

Jewell returned to his job as a deputy with the Meriwether County Sheriff's Office over the summer, "but only for a couple of days," according to Worley.

Jewell was initially lauded as a hero after a bomb went off at the July 27, 1996, Olympic celebration. He called attention to the suspicious knapsack that held a bomb and helped evacuate the area.

But days later he became the FBI's chief suspect, as The AJC and other media outlets reported.

The FBI later cleared Jewell of any wrongdoing. He was never charged with a crime.

Eric Robert Rudolph pleaded guilty to the bombing in 2005 and is serving life in prison for it and other attacks.

His is a sad story. A guy who just wanted to be a cop and took the job as a security guard instead. When a life-threatening situation arose, he acted like you would hope a professional law officer would act, and instead of praise, he was vilified and considered a suspect. As it turned out, he performed magnificently and probably saved many lives that night in 1996.