Last week you published a thoughtful letter pointing out that the Sackler family’s billions, and/or their pharmacy company, should be held responsible for the massive damages to extended families for raising orphaned children thanks to the victims’ drug addictions. Hopefully an enterprising attorney can figure out a way of organizing those families and bring a class action case asserting those legitimate claims.

In addition, however, society needs to pursue remedies that deter people like the Sacklers from engaging in reckless criminal actions that cause thousands of deaths and widespread grief to families the way OxyContin has done. Fines and penalties alone are unlikely to do the job. What deters supposedly civilized, “white collar” criminals most effectively is time behind bars. 

Wouldn’t it be poetic justice if David Sackler were to be convicted for his knowing and blatant disregard for the impact of his company’s and his family’s greed, and then sentenced to a term in, say, that supermax prison in Colorado? 

I suggest that because there’s a cell in that prison with only one inmate, and I think another cot could be squeezed in so Sackler could have a cellmate. They could compare notes, although David might consider his new friend a bit of a lightweight. That convict’s name? Guzman – El Chapo.

Seriously, business executives and owners involved in all kinds of activities will be a whole lot more careful about the impact of what they do on customers, employees, shareholders and the general public if they see one of their number, a formerly respected peer, wearing an orange jumpsuit.  And those collaterally damaged family members will take some solace in seeing them vanish behind prison walls, too.

George Randels
PORT TOWNSEND