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Wednesday, December 22, 2004Near the end of her short life, Shayla Stewart, a diagnosed manic-depressive and schizophrenic, assaulted police officers and was arrested for attacking a fellow customer at a Denton Wal-Mart where she had a prescription for anti-psychotic medication. Given all those signs, her parents say, another Wal-Mart just seven miles away should have never sold her the shotgun she used to kill herself at age 24 in 2003. Her mother, Lavern Bracy, is suing the world's biggest store chain for $25 million, saying clerks should have known about her daughter's illness or done more to find out. Pharmacy prescription records are subject to federal privacy rules. No one can gain access to those without written permission from the patient. (With some exceptions, such as law enforcement agents investigating a crime.) Buying a gun isn't a crime,though. And the Wal-Mart did ask her about mental illness, but she lied. What's more, although federal law prohibits selling guns to mentally ill people, according to the story, 38 states prohibit release of information about mental illness. It's hard to see how it's Wal-Mart's fault that she killed herself. Without a gun, she surely would have found another method. posted by Sydney on 12/22/2004 12:52:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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