Well good.... I hope they catch that Bast**d this time!!

It's worth noting (since this is Consumerist) that the way Johnson and Johnson handled the situation is one of the better examples of a company responding to something by putting the needs of the consumer/customer first. They pulled all of their products from shelves. They told the public not to use their products and they ceased advertising their product.

Then they figured out how to restructure their packaging and make the product safe.

I'm certain that not everyone at Johnson and Johnson reacted nobly. I'm sure that many were worried about the $100 million in sales they were pulling from shelves and thought that only a few people had died and so on....but as a company, they took a big hit and reacted the right way.

Linky:

[cyberlewis.com]

and

[74.125.95.132]

@shepd:

Which, BTW, isn't all that bizarre. The "worst" would be:

Somehow, after a quarter of a century, I surmise only a select few with critical minds will believe anythng I have to say. Many people look for hidden agendas, for secret double entendre, and ignore the literal meanings I convey. Many enjoy twisting and contorting what I say into something ominous and dreadful which I do not intend.

Which, whether you believe him or not, isn't really even slightly odd for someone whom no-one believe is innocent, yet says they are innocent.

Wow, I remember the original Tylenol scare clear as day. It totally sucked. Kinda forgotten in all of this was that the paranoia wasn't just about headache pills, everybody was freaked about everything you could ingest-- processed food, soda, fruit and veggies-- you name it. Bottled water wasn't a big thing back then, but a modern-scare would probably include that too.

I hope this announcement doesn't have the opposite effect of giving some numbnut Gen-(whatever letter we're on now?) copycat a bad idea.

What I want to know is why manufacturers sometimes put tamper-proof seals on laundry detergent bottles?

I don't have to wonder about that, I remember the whole thing! I still think about that occasionally, as I tear the "safety seal" off of a product, and the thought of that kind of thing happening again still freaks me out a little.

@Blueskylaw:
Yeah, there's some things where it doesn't seem to make any sense and kinda seems like a waste.

@Blueskylaw: Probably so a customer can't drain half the bottle of detergent, fill it back up with water, give it a shake, and return it to the store for a refund.

What, they've tracked down every last subprime scammer and convicted them? They've tracked down the thieves of the billions we've lost in the Middle East thru theft?
The thousands of crooked mortgage lenders and bankers are cooling their heels behind bars?
I smell an attempt to boost publicity for the agency. Esp for a case they've already got their guy for, who was convicted, combined with the odds of convicting in these types of cases makes my suspicious.

@Blueskylaw: to keep someone from pouring some skin irritant in I'd think

@Blueskylaw: Some laundry detergents contain bleach.

Some (if not most, if not all) bleach products are required by federal regulation to have child-resistant closures. Most companies will include a tamper-resistant seal in addition to the child closure in that case. I'm not sure, but perhaps that is required as well.

@theblackdog:
Companies cut costs however they can. They don't care if some sleaze scams a retailer by doing what you mention (the retailer is the one who takes the monetary hit, not the manufacturer). So there's no way they'd use another piece of foil unnecessarily, no matter how little it costs.

These are the same companies that look for ways to reduce packaging weight by .5 grams per package as a way to save millions in cost. It's a BIG deal.

To prevent leaking in shipment actually. Ever notice the plastic always has a little bit of crust around the lid. Also with Powdered detergant, you could put anthrax spores in, and no one would be any wiser.

A little more of Lewis' criminal background from the AP:

Lewis also served two years of a 10-year sentence for tax fraud. In 1978, he was charged in Kansas City with the dismemberment murder of Raymond West, 72, who had hired Lewis as an accountant. The charges were dismissed because West's cause of death was not determined and some evidence had been illegally obtained.

In 2004, Lewis was charged with rape, kidnapping and other offenses for an alleged attack on a woman in Cambridge. He was jailed for three years while awaiting trial, but prosecutors dismissed the charges on the day his trial was scheduled to begin after the victim refused to testify, according to the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.

@ccbweb: Yes, it's a teaching case in my business ethics class. They have a corporate mission/ethics statement that's actually really good, and not just empty platitudes, encouraging responsibility to the consumer from every employee, no matter how lowly, and reminding employees that the users of their products are parents and families and the elderly and children, who put their trust in J&Js medicine and the fastest way to kill the company is to violate that trust.

They actually took out full-page ads and commercial spots telling people NOT to use Tylenol. Their CEO was available to media basically continuously for the entire crisis. Everyone told them to hide behind the lawyers, they were going to go under. Wall Street was unhappy. Their market share plummeted, their stock fell.

But the funny thing was, when they came back on the market, they recovered their market share much more quickly than anyone thought possible (most commentators thought they'd never recover) and unexpectedly shot ahead in market share for baby Tylenol and their other baby products -- because every mother in America knew here was at least ONE company that actually, demonstrably would put the good of their babies ahead of profit.

@savvy9999: I was like five or so when this happened, and I actually remember parts of it pretty vividly (the cops driving around using their loudspeakers to tell people not to take Tylenol sticks out, as does the non-stop TV coverage). I didn't know what it was about, but I knew it was really bad.

What I didn't figure out until years later, because I didn't actually remember WHAT the fuss was about, just that there was fuss, was -- well, when my mom tried to make me swallow pills instead of taking chewables, I had hysterics because I was absolutely convinced I would DIE if I swallowed a pill and nothing could convince me otherwise even though I knew it wasn't true. This went on for like a year, complete hysterics every time. It wasn't until this came up in class a few years later that I suddenly went, "HOLY SHIT, I REMEMBER THIS -- AND THIS IS WHY I WOULDN'T SWALLOW PILLS!" People actually DID die from swallowing pills, with week-long wall-to-wall media coverage, right when I was just barely old enough to understand the news, but not old enough to really remember or understand what was going on!

@Trai_Dep:

If I remember correctly, his 11 years in prison had nothing to do with the Tylenol killings.

I believe you're saying getting this guy is a waste of time?
From everything I've read about him, he's a piece of trash who should not be on the street.

@GMFish: That dude is a psychopath. Very scary.

@Trai_Dep: people were murdered. Murderers should be punished.

@Eyebrows McGee: Part of the reason why people thought Tylenol would never come back was the events surrounding another drug pulled from public consumption earlier that year.

The unfortunately named AYDS "chocolates", a diet suppressant. That product never reentered the marketplace.

The weird five paragraphs from Google's cache, for those interested:

So you want to hear me yammer. You have come to the right page..
Somehow, after a quarter of a century, I surmise only a select few with critical minds will believe anythng I have to say. Many people look for hidden agendas, for secret double entendre, and ignore the literal meanings I convey. Many enjoy twisting and contorting what I say into something ominous and dreadful which I do not intend.
That my friends is the curse of being labelled the Tylenol Man.
Be that as it may, I can NOT change human proclivities. I shant try. Listen as you like.

Weird.

He may be demented, but James Lewis has a solid alibi. He moved to New York well before the tampering, and was there during the whole ordeal.

@Blueskylaw: Kids + liquid that could make them sick + access to it at grocery stores + being dumb kids = law suit.

@Trai_Dep:

You can't possibly remember the hysteria and nationwide paranoia this caused if you don't feel it would be a worthwhile investigation to pursue.

I still think about those times when I open bottles of any medicine.... it was very scary at that time, and people DIED. These are unsolved murders... they should be opened back up.

law and Order CI did this case in the first season. But they caught the person involved.

@Residentdrunkgirl:

I expect it's to help prevent loss and/or spoilage. Makes sense to me...I don't want the chemicals to leave the bottle until I'm in an appropriate place to use them.

@Blueskylaw: It's so someone doesn't replace your detergent with McDonald's sweet tea.

@Eyebrows McGee:

Yeah, I remember this. It was very scary. I thought they responded admirably. It made me feel very good about buying and using their products.

@Eyebrows McGee:

Good argument for remembering that little kids absorb stuff you might not realize they are absorbing!

Poor scared little Eyebrows...

@Blueskylaw: To keep people from putting blue Rit dye in a bottle of Cheer? Not that I ever did that to a psycho ex in college or anything...

@valthun: Except I'm really hoping this person wasn't just trying to fund a store for baby stuff through a lawsuit...

@TheRedSeven: But if [major chain store] cares, and they tell [major supplier of chain store] that they care, then [major supplier of chain store] cares.

I know the wife of the guy who figured out Tylenol was causing the deaths. He passed away about 7 years ago. I know this would mean a lot to the him.

This was before I was born, but...wow! I never knew that! Thanks for the history lesson.

I hope they catch the guy. I didn't know people could be such bastards...well, I did, but still. Hopefully modern tech can be used to ID the killer.

@BathroomDuck: There's these things called airplanes. Unfortunately ID wasn;t required then so they can't prove it, but a quick flight in, stash the doctored goods on shelves, and fly out, wouldn't take even a day. Remember, the doctored goods apparantly came from stores surrounding the airport.

I remember that paranoia. Even after it was discovered that the extra strength capsules were the culprits it took a while for people to trust the Tylenol brand again. I remember this girl at school brought in regular strength Tylenol tablets and we all thought she lost her mind. (Back then you could carry pain relievers with you to school.)

This definitely changed the way items were packaged. Years prior you could just open up a jar of peanut butter and eat a scoop and reclose it...

Oh, peanut butter,hmm. I guess we don't have to worry about contamination from consumers now...

Copycats - maybe the whole thing was a copycat?

I remember this happening when I was a kid and wondering if it was someone copying the plot from an Agatha Christie that I had read. I can't remember the title (anyone know it? I don't read Christie any more) but it involved someone poisoning milk bottles at random to cover up a poisoning that wasn't random - i.e. bury the real target among random victims. I've wondered since then if some sicko copied her plot.

Go get 'em FBI. Cyanide is a horrible death and someone who would inflict it on anyone, but especially on random strangers who never did them any harm... I can't even think of a suitable punishment.