Unwanted Celebrity: Mr. Jewell Dies

Richard Jewell died on Wednesday. Mr. Jewell helped prevent a bomb attack at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, but became later a suspect in the same bombing, before being cleared of this suspicion. His New York Times obituary notes that he was commanded last year by the Georgia governor for helping saving lives that day.

Mr. Jewell became unwillingly famous after that episode, and his life was turned upside down by that unwanted celebrity. He sued for defamation the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that had reported that he may have planted the bomb himself. In Atlanta Journal-Constitution v. Jewell, 555 S.E.2d 175 (Ga. Ct.App. 2001 ) the court held that Mr. Jewell was indeed a "voluntary limited-purpose public figure", and is thus a public figure, and the actual malice rule(NY Times v. Sullivan ) was applicable in his case.