Embedded Files
Short-Term:
They took all of Lewis’ things that could be connected to the killings.
“The FBI seized a computer and other items from Lewis’ home in February 2009 after Illinois authorities renewed the investigation. The FBI’s Chicago office at the time cited ‘advances in forensic technology’ and said it, along with the Illinois State Police and local police departments, was conducting a ‘complete review of all evidence developed in connection’ with the killings.” (Press).
Police first figured out that the Tylenol cases had been poisoned. Then after figuring out Lewis sent a ransom to Tylenol so he became their number one suspect. The police found Lewis in New York City, 1982, and arrested him. Lewis admitted to sending the letter but never intended to collect the money. He served 12 years in prison for sending that letter. The FBI later seized his stuff to review evidence. In 2010 Lewis gave DNA samples to the FBI.
Long-Term:
Some time after the Tylenol murders, the company who makes Tylenol, Johnson and Johnson, completely changed how bottles of Tylenol were packaged.
“Johnson & Johnson communicated their new triple safety seal packaging- a glued box, a plastic sear over the neck of the bottle, and a foil seal over the mouth of the bottle, with a press conference at the manufacturer's headquarters. Tylenol became the first product in the industry to use the new tamper resistant packaging just 6 months after the crisis occurred.” (Crisis communication strategies: Case study: The Johnson&Johnson Tylenol crisis)
Because of the murders the company needed to change how the Tylenol bottles got packaged so they could prevent something like that from happening again. One example of how they did that was with triple safety seal packaging, which I guess adds more seals to the box. And, this changing of the packaging made Tylenol the first product to use tamper resistant packaging. And I bet that a bunch of other things were done to protect the Tylenol from being tampered.
Dwane Powell cartoon, November 7 1982, the DPLA.
This image shows a couple trying to open a safe to their Tylenol. But, the husband can't open it because he forgot the code. This was made as a reaction to how the Tylenol makers increased the security on the bottles. And because there was so much security added, it kind of felt like opening a safe.
Checkstand Security, 28 Oct. 1982, Digital Public Library of America.
It shows how there's lots of security that all packages have to go through. How there's more security than there has ever been and how people don't like the process. This image shows the aftermath of what we did to make sure the Tylenol Murders would never happen again. It's important because anytime you would want to get anything you would have fear of it being poisoned. So it's saying how it's almost impossible for poison to go into the product and then to you.
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