Standard Gravure shooting
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The Standard Gravure shooting occurred on September 14, 1989. Standard Gravure was a major Louisville, Kentucky printing company founded in 1922. Reduced revenues led to an employee wage freeze in 1982, and in 1986 the company was sold. Standard Gravure's customers were retailers, many of which were in the process of going out of business, and at the same time, paper shortages were occurring in the marketplace. It was a time of cutbacks, stress and difficulty.
Joseph T. Wesbecker, the shooter, had worked for Standard Gravure for 17 years, but had been on disability leave since spring due to mental illness. On September 14, he entered the plant at 8:30 am, armed with an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle and several other firearms. He walked around the plant for thirty minutes firing at employees, wounding twelve and killing eight plus himself.
Because Wesbecker had started taking Prozac less than a month before the shooting, the wounded and the families of those killed filed suit against manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company, claiming that Wesbecker's use of Prozac contributed to his actions. The jury decided 9-3 for Lilly, a result immediately seized upon by the company as vindication of Prozac's safety, ensuring continued sales and a favorable public image. Not until several years later was it revealed that Lilly had arranged a secret settlement with the plaintiffs in exchange for weakening their case. See Fentress v. Eli Lilly.
[edit] References
- "Standard Gravure". The Encyclopedia of Louisville (1). (2001).
