Five Idaho inmates blame alcohol for the crimes that put them behind bars, so they are suing some of the nation’s top beer and liquor companies.
The inmates want $1 billion from eight of the largest beer, wine and liquor companies in the world. The inmates all claim they knew nothing of the addictiveness of alcohol when they started drinking as teenagers.
One inmate wrote in his affidavit that had there been warning labels on the alcohol, he could conclusively state he would not have drank the product.
The five inmates blame booze for a range of crimes including manslaughter, grand theft and drugs.
“If I was not an alcoholic,” wrote one of the inmates, “the shooting would never have happened.”
The defendants in the lawsuit include Anheiser-Busch, Miller Brewing and the makers of Jim Beam. None of the companies have responded to the lawsuit.
