<p>A plea agreement in the 1996 Olympic Park bombing should mean final vindication for hero-turned-suspect Richard Jewell, his attorney said Friday.</p><p>Jewell was aware of the initial reports of a confession by Eric Rudolph, but was awaiting official word before saying anything publicly, attorney L. Lin Wood said Friday. The earliest he is expected to comment is next week.</p><p>Rudolph agreed to plead guilty to that bombing, a fatal 1998 blast at an Alabama abortion clinic, a 1997 bombing at an Atlanta lesbian bar and a 1997 bombing at an Atlanta building that housed an abortion clinic, sources told The Associated Press on Friday.</p><p>Rudolph faced a possible death sentence and reportedly will receive four life sentences.</p><p>"The plea of guilty by Rudolph to the Olympic Centennial Park bombing would be a total vindication of Richard Jewell," Wood said. "Richard Jewell was a hero the night of the bombing."</p><p>Wood added that he would like Jewell to be officially recognized for his actions the night of the bombing.</p><p>Jewell was investigated in the 1996 Olympic bombing and named by a newspaper as a suspect. Jewell was a security guard when the park bomb exploded July 27, 1996, killing one woman and injuring 111 people during the Atlanta Olympics.</p><p>Jewell had initially been considered a hero for helping evacuate the park just before the bomb went off, but three days later The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the FBI was investigating him. Jewell was cleared by the FBI three months later and eventually filed a civil suit against the newspaper that is still pending.</p><p>"One does not have to speculate a great deal to imagine how he will feel when he does receive this final and total vindication," Wood said.</p><p>Jewell, now 43, still lives in the Atlanta area and works as a police officer.</p><p>Former Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Buddy Nix called the Olympic Park bombing "a defining moment in my life," and said reports of Rudolph's confession was "wonderful news."</p><p>"The eyes of the world were on Atlanta," said Nix, now chairman of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. "For that to have happened on our watch under those circumstances was a moment none of us would have wanted to happen."</p><p>Rudolph was identified before Nix left office, but captured afterward. Nix was expecting the case to go to trial.</p><p>"I guess I just assumed it would be one of those cases that would go to trial but knowing the investigative work that had been done to identify him and get the case prepared for trial, it's not a surprise," he said. "I just didn't think it would happen."</p><p>Nearly a decade later, it's hard to wander into Centennial Olympic Park without remembering the tragedy at the downtown Atlanta landmark that rocked the city and an international community visiting for the Games.</p><p>The bombing was the first thing on the minds of Dina Bown and her sister-in-law, Patty, as they strolled into the park's southern entrance.</p><p>"It was scary," said Dina Bown, who was at Centennial the day before the bombing. "I'm glad he admitted it. He could have hurt a lot more people."</p><p>Bombing suspect Eric Rudolph admitted Friday afternoon to the Centennial bombing and three others, including an Alabama abortion clinic.</p><p>Mitchell Lee and Dwyane Williams couldn't help talking about the bombing, either. Sitting in an amphitheater, enjoying a sunny Friday afternoon, Lee said he was in disbelief nine years ago.</p><p>"That was the time we were supposed to be extending our southern hospitality," said the 17-year Atlanta resident, who hails from Alabama, where Rudolph was accused of three more bombings.</p><p>"I couldn't believe it. At that time, I didn't think people acted like that."</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Dick Pettys and Eliott McLaughlin in Atlanta contributed to this report.</p>
