Arthur Sackler Lobotomy (2024)

FAQs

Did Arthur Sackler do lobotomy? ›

Richard is the son of Raymond Sackler and nephew of Arthur and Mortimer Sackler, the patriarchs who bought Purdue Pharma, starting the Sackler dynasty. Arthur Sackler is inaccurately portrayed as a frivolous psychiatrist who practiced lobotomy before coming up with the idea of marketing thorazine.

The bankruptcy plan was overturned in a December 2021 ruling. Then, on May 30, a New York court of appeals reversed the December 2021 decision and ruled that members of the Sackler family will be protected from lawsuits over their role in the opioid epidemic.

Limited series Painkiller charts some of the origins of the opioid crisis. Though the tense drama is a fictionalized retelling of events, its foundation is extensive research.

Udell died in 2013, well before he could return to the industry. However, he did go on to use his legal expertise in a different setting. According to the Hartford Courant, he and Friedman performed their court-ordered community service at the VA's Errera Community Care Center in Connecticut.

Arthur Sackler died in 1987. Richard Sackler is still alive, lives in Florida, and turned 78 in March this year. As Painkiller states: “No member of the Sackler family has ever been criminally charged in connection with the marketing of OxyContin, or any overdose deaths involving the drug.”

OxyContin, a trade name for the narcotic oxycodone hydrochloride, is a painkiller available in the United States only by prescription.

No members of the sackler family have been arrested for the well over 100,000 provable opioid deaths calls by their opioids from Purdue pharmaceutical.

All three of the original Sackler brothers who bought Purdue and ultimately developed oxycontin were physicians. At the peak of their sales and marketing, Purdue hired 3,000 doctors to serve on their speakers bureau—a fact which certainly does not reflect well on the medical profession.

The Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma have offered $6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging they fueled the opioid epidemic. About 130,000 people would share $750 million of the money. Nearly all who voted on the deal two years ago approved.

As of August, 2023, Purdue Pharma remains in chapter 11 bankruptcy, pending a Department of Justice appeal to the United States Supreme Court, of a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals ruling that the bankruptcy proceedings may continue.

Is Shannon Shaffer a real Painkiller? ›

Is Shannon Schaeffer based on a real person? Not exactly. Shannon's character is an amalgamation of many people who worked as sales representatives for Purdue Pharma. Essentially, she's a composite character, similar to Uzo Aduba's portrayal of federal prosecutor Edie Flowers.

After taking OxyContin herself for the first time and walking into a swimming pool, Shannon comes to the realization that she needs to get out of Purdue and make amends, and her storyline ends with her aiding the U.S. Attorney's office in their investigation.

Steven May started at Purdue Pharma as a sales rep in 1999, and years later went on to allege fraud against Purdue as a participant in a whistle-blower lawsuit (which was dismissed on procedural grounds).

A court ruled the owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, will be protected from civil lawsuits linked to the opioid crisis in exchange for a $6 billion settlement. Purdue, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019 amid thousands of lawsuits, made drugs like OxyContin and is blamed for fueling the opioid epidemic.

Brownlee was included on the list of the second set of U.S. attorneys who were fired in 2006. He testified before the Senate that his placement on the list was related to his refusal of a request by his superiors at the DOJ to delay settlement of the Purdue Pharma case in 2006. Ultimately, he was not dismissed.

Howard Dully

Today, he is a tour bus driver living in California. In collaboration with Sound Portraits producers Piya Kochhar and Dave Isay, Dully embarked on a remarkable two year journey to uncover the hidden story behind the lobotomy he received as a 12-year-old child.

It involves breaking the connection between the frontal lobe and the thalamus. While lobotomies caused some people with mental illnesses to become calmer, they also frequently caused significant changes in personality, such as apathy and social disinhibition.

Sackler died June 30, according to a court filing. He was 65 and the cause of death was cancer.

Sackler (born Aug. 22, 1913, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died May 26, 1987, New York) was an American physician, medical publisher, and art collector who made large donations of money and art to universities and museums.