The apparent suicide of a suspect in the 2001 anthrax mail attacks this week is spurring questions from legal observers of the 7-year-long federal investigation: Was Bruce E. Ivins' death a sign of guilt or the act of an innocent man unwilling to endure public accusations?

Last August, Richard Jewell died of a heart attack at age 44, nearly 11 years after federal officials leaked his name as a suspect in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. His attorney said the stress of those accusations likely played a significant role in his death at such a young age, despite his winning several settlements.

Lin Wood, the attorney for Jewell in the Olympic bombing case, said his client "for 88 days lived with the fear that he would be falsely accused in connection to a terrorist bombing, which carries with it the death penalty if convicted."

"Because of the leaks from government sources coupled with the media frenzy, Richard had two of the most powerful entities in the world bearing down on him: the government and the media," said Wood of the Atlanta law firm of Powell Goldstein. "The investigation changed his life forever."

Wood said that too often the media and law enforcement work together to the detriment of suspects who are never charged. He blamed the media's willingness to publish information from unnamed government sources, which allows investigation officials to escape accountability.

Wood said when he obtained the government's evidence, it contained nothing that linked Jewell to the bombing.

"One could jump to the conclusion of guilt, or one could jump to the conclusion of the mental stress of being accused of a crime you didn't commit," Wood said.