A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the life sentence for Atlanta Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph.
Rudolph pleaded guilty and accepted multiple life sentences to avoid the death penalty for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombings and three other terrorist attacks. A three-judge panel ruled Monday that he remains bound by the terms of that agreement.
“Eric Rudolph is bound by the terms of his bargain,” Judge Britt Grant wrote in the opinion. “Eric Rudolph is bound by the terms of his bargain. He negotiates to spare his life, and in return he has no right to collateralize his sentence in post-conviction proceedings. “I waived my right to attack.”
Rudolph had argued that a 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the use of firearms and deadly weapons in “crimes of violence” warranted a motion for a new sentence.
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A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the life sentence for Atlanta Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph (center).
In the Atlanta Olympics bombing, Rudolph detonated an explosive at a musical show at Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring dozens. He also admitted to placing explosives outside another abortion clinic and a gay nightclub in Georgia and another abortion clinic in Alabama.
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Rudolph’s victims accused the bomber of mocking them even from inside a supermax prison in 2007. Rudolph did not have internet access, but his supporters were able to publish letters and essays he had written.
In the Atlanta Olympics bombing, Eric Rudolph detonated an explosive at a music show at Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring dozens.
In one article, Rudolph attempted to justify violence against abortion clinics by claiming that Jesus condoned “militant acts in defense of innocent people.”
In another essay, Rudolph mocked Emily Lyons, a former abortion clinic nurse who was nearly killed in a 1998 bombing in Alabama. However, he used pseudonyms for her and her husband rather than her marital name.
Then-President Clinton was referring to the 1996 bombing at Atlanta’s Olympic Centennial Park.
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Other victims were less interested in Rudolph’s writings. John Hawthorne, whose wife Alice died in the Olympic bombing, said his only concern at the time was that Rudolph would remain in prison.
“As far as I can tell, he was out of sight and unconscious,” Hawthorne said. “I don’t care what he says as long as they keep him locked up.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
