Victim to Sacklers: 'I Hope Every Face Haunts You'

Richard, Theresa, and David Sackler were forced to sit in silence Thursday as victims of the opioid epidemic told the owners of Purdue Pharma the damage Oxycontin had done to their lives and families. The session was mandated by the settlement that ended years of court fights, giving victims their first opportunity to talk directly to the owners. For about two hours, the Sacklers sat while they were addressed in a virtual hearing by about two dozen people, per the AP. "For years the Sacklers painted them in their emails as slime, addicts, as low lifes, and that it was their fault they were addicted," said a lawyer on a committee for 70,000 victims' relatives and those in recovery. "But they are America. They are you and me." Statements were given by:

• Kara Trainor, whose son was born while she was on methadone to treat her addiction: "If you've ever heard a newborn in withdrawal, the screaming will haunt you for the rest of your life."
• Tiffinee Scott, who found the dead body of her daughter Tiarra, 28, who'd been given OxyContin to treat pain from sickle cell disease, per the New York Times: "I pray that criminal charges are filed upon you. Have you revived one of your children from an overdose?"
• Ryan Hampton, who became addicted after being prescribed OxyContin for a knee injury. "I hope that every single victim’s face haunts your every waking moment and your sleeping ones, too. I hope you hear our names in your dreams," he told Richard Sackler, adding, "I hope you hear the sirens."
• Cheryl Juaire, who lost two sons to overdoses: "How much money is enough? Really, truly, how much is enough? If your family had any remorse at all, you could have changed the trajectory by taking your money back in 2007 and used it to abate this crisis."
• Kay Scarpone, who lost her son Joseph: "When you created OxyContin, you created so much loss for so many people. I'm outraged that you haven’t owned up to the crisis that you've created."
• Jill Cichowicz, whose twin brother, Scott, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2017: "May God have mercy on all your souls, because no one in this room will."
• Stephanie Lubinski, whose husband died of an overdose, per NPR: "You will know his name, Troy Alan Lubinksi."

(More Purdue Pharma stories.)