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Richard Jewell’s 88 days of scrutiny and investigation ended on Oct. 26, 1996, when authorities cleared his name as a suspect. Seven years later, the actual bomber, Eric Rudolph, was arrested. Rudolph, it turns out, was wanted for a series of bombings across the country.

Bobi Jewell said the film will \"finally\" vindicate her son in history, although she wishes it had happened 23 years ago.

\"PHOTO:
Claire Folger/Warner Bros.
PHOTO: Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates and Paul Walter Hauser star in the Warner Bros. film, "Richard Jewell."
>

\"You’re making a film. You hope that you can make it so it has an entertainment value and a value of information out there,\" Eastwood said. \"But then, all of a sudden, here’s somebody who’s living now, [who] has lived through the whole thing. And she feels there’s some vindication in the film. That’s very humbling.\"

Richard Jewell was 44 years old when he died in 2007 of a heart attack. Bobi Jewell said she thinks the intense scrutiny and misjudgment her son endured took a toll on his life.

\"I think it killed him,\" Bobi Jewell said, \"I really do.\"

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