printWhen I heard that a victim of the Boston Marathon bombings was being held as a “person of interest,” I thought of Richard Jewell. He was a “security guard … who became known in connection with the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Discovering a pipe bomb on the park grounds, Jewell alerted police and helped to evacuate the area before the bomb exploded, saving many people from injury or death. Initially hailed by the media as a hero, Jewell was later [hounded] as a suspect.” (Wikipedia)
Despite having never being [sic] charged, [Jewell] underwent a “trial by media” with great toll on his personal and professional life. Eventually he was completely exonorated [sic].
(Information and grammar courtesy of Wikipedia.)
The rumor about the apprehension of a suspect has since been dispelled by CNN. Still, let us hope that no lives are ruined, à la Richard Jewell, in the course of what promises to be a showy and politicized FBI hunt for the perpetrators.
While I was hoping no more innocent victims—this time in the form of the falsely accused—suffer; Bill Anderson, at LRC.COM, has a good idea who ‘The Southern Paranoia Law Center’ is “praying” will be implicated in detonating the Boston marathon bombs:
Anyone reading this post right now almost certainly does NOT know who was responsible for the despicable bombing today at the Boston Marathon. Yet, given that the USA is a hopelessly-politicized country, I am sure that accusations already are being thrown about like so much else of the ignorance that is spewed on various venues these days.
I AM sure, however, that the people at the Southern Paranoia Law Center (SPLC) are hoping, HOPING! that the perpetrators were “white supremacists” so that the SPLC immediately can send out fund-raising letters to turn this sad event into a cash cow. (And I am sure that Paul Krugman would love to be able to blame the Tea Party or maybe even Ron Paul supporters.)
According to news reports, federal agents are “flooding” the area and, I suppose, probably are doing as much damage as an overflowing Charles River would do. One thing is for sure: these “investigators” will botch the case and then lie about the results. The authorities seem to do that quite well.