Devil's Tower is situated in the Bear Lodge Mountains near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, Wyoming.
It became popular when its backdrop was used in the sci-fi movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind - a movie about aliens visiting earth - Quite unbelievable but a good flick nonetheless.
Approx 60 miles south east of Devil's Tower is a town called Gillette. The population was estimated at 31,797 as of 1 July 2013.
In 1998 the town of Gillette was shook to its core, not because of invading aliens in huge motherships playing the five tones, it was shaken by a homicide/suicide.
Donald Schell (60) shot to death his family members, Rita Schell, Deborah Tobin, and Alyssa Tobin, before turning the gun on himself. Nobody knew, at the time, why such a loving man would carry out such a heinous crime.
Step forward surviving son-in-law, Tim Tobin, who brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Glaxo because Donald Schell was, um, basically, normal before he started taking Glaxo's wonder drug, Paxil. The jury in the Tobin v SmithKline Beecham (SKB) trial concluded that Paxil could cause someone to carry out suicide or homicide and that the drug was in fact a proximate cause of the deaths in this case.
Despite the verdict, Glaxo (then SKB) still maintained that Paxil was safe and did not cause patients to kill themselves and/or others. So, even being found guilty still, seemingly, gives Glaxo the right to plead their innocence. "Everyone in here is innocent, you know that?" ~ Red. Shawshank Redemption.
So, as I said, the town of Gillette is some 60 miles south east of Devil's Tower - which brings me nicely onto the current defence attorneys of King & Spalding et al in the Dolin v GlaxoSmithKline Paxil suicide trial.
Dolin's attorneys want to make mention of the Schell case to the jury, Glaxo are (once again) arguing/objecting, call it what you will, that the jury don't need to be made aware that their drug, Paxil, has already been found to cause suicide and homicide. Their reasons are, at best, laughable - their tactic, it appears, is to frustrate the widow of Stewart Dolin, Wendy.
Stewart had taken Paxil and had become agitated, an agitation brought on by akathisia which, in turn, was brought on by the Paxil.
Here's the reasons Glaxo have put forward regarding the submission of the Schell case.
The Tobin verdict referenced by Plaintiff’s filing concerns a trial that is wholly immaterial to this lawsuit for a number of reasons, including that the case (1) concerned labeling and warnings in February 1998 which are markedly different than those provided to the prescribing physician in this case.
(2) was decided under Wyoming law, not the law of Illinois;
(3) occurred before a host of analyses by a number of different researchers which havesuperseded the analyses discussed at that trial; and
(4) occurred before a number of scientific analyses showed no association between the use of paroxetine and suicidal thoughts or behavior in adult patients in Stewart Dolin’s age category. Finally, the Tobin case involved multiple homicides as well as a suicide so it is factually distinguishable from the case before this Court.
As a matter of interest, concerning Stewart Dolin's 'age category', Stewart Dolin was 57, Schell was 60.
On point number 3, I'm baffled. if Glaxo, as they claim, have analyzed whether or not Paxil can or cannot induce suicide then why don't they provide that evidence? Surely if Dolin's attorney's use the Schell evidence, Glaxo can simply rebut it with the alleged analyses they have in their possession, right?
This is probably why they have thrown this excuse forward, it's just another attempt at introducing more paperwork for the layperson jury, or maybe another attempt at stalling the trial, which has been given a March 2017 date. It's business. If you have twenty or so million in the bank then you will want it remaining in the bank to gain interest. Anyone with half a brain knows how big corporate companies work. Then, of course, there is the defence attorneys being used by Glaxo, who, more than likely, are being paid by the hour - why let go of such a great cash cow, right?
Glaxo attempts at defending this trial (before it even goes to trial) have been rib-tickling, not so much for plaintiff, Wendy Dolin though who, I imagine, is totally frustrated at the whole mechanics of pharmaceutical defence attorneys.
Memo to Wendy - They are flogging a dead horse and just gaining interest on the money that they will eventually have to hand over, be it by being found guilty (once again) or by settling halfway through the trial.
I really enjoyed the movie Close Encounters - Devil's Tower has been a place that I would just love to visit. I envisage driving up to it whilst playing the original musical score from John Williams.
A remake of Close Encounters would be great huh?
In the original the government had to convince people of Wyoming that nerve gas was airborne so they had to evacuate the area. A more modern, up-to-date version could see the residents of Wyoming prescribed Paxil - they'll either be so out of it that they won't see the mothership or they will end up killing one another or beating one another to a pulp.
Play the five tones...
Bob Fiddaman.
Dolin back stories.
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