Former West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw dies at 88

By JOHN RABY The Associated Press

FILE - Candidate for the West Virginia Supreme Court Darrell McGraw poses for a portrait in Charleston, W.Va., March 16, 2016. (Lisa Bernheim/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Lisa Bernheim]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Darrell V. McGraw Jr., a former longtime West Virginia attorney general and state Supreme Court justice who fought back against the state’s drug overdose crisis, died Saturday. He was 88.

Jared Hunt, a spokesman for the state Supreme Court, said in an email that McGraw died of a heart attack.

The West Virginia Democratic Party called McGraw “a tireless advocate for justice, fairness, and the people of our great state.”

“His legacy of service and commitment to our state will never be forgotten,” it said in a statement. “Darrell’s work made a lasting impact on our state, and his spirit of public service will continue to inspire generations to come.”

A Democrat, McGraw won a 12-year term on the Supreme Court in 1976. He was elected attorney general in 1992 and re-elected four times before losing to Republican Patrick Morrisey in 2012. McGraw lost a bid to return to the Supreme Court in 2016.

“My prayers and sympathies go out to the family and friends of Darrell McGraw for their loss,” Morrisey said in a statement on the social platform X.

In 2001, McGraw accused Purdue Pharma in a lawsuit of dishonestly marketing the painkiller OxyContin in West Virginia. The company agreed to a $10 million settlement in 2004.

McGraw later filed a lawsuit over excessive amounts of prescription painkillers that were flooding southern West Virginia pharmacies. After McGraw left office, the state announced settlements of $20 million with distributor Cardinal Health Inc. and $16 million with AmerisourceBergen Drug Co.

In addition, a Georgia company that McGraw accused of supplying ingredients used to make drugs known as bath salts and synthetic marijuana agreed not to sell or advertise in the state.

The drug overdose epidemic has killed more than 1 million people in the United States since 1999. West Virginia for years has had by far the nation’s highest overdose death rate.

McGraw also focused on consumer protection and antitrust laws, suing direct mail marketers, credit card companies, alternative lenders and other businesses.

In 1998 his office was part of a national settlement against major U.S. cigarette manufacturers. West Virginia currently has the highest rate of adult smokers.

Born Nov. 8, 1936, in Wyoming County, McGraw enlisted in the Army as a teenager. Attending West Virginia University, he was elected student body president and earned bachelor’s and law degrees.

He later became counsel to the state legislature and to Gov. Hulett Smith before being elected to the Supreme Court.

McGraw’s wife, Jorea Marple, is a former state schools superintendent. His brother, former state Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw, died last year.

McGraw is survived by his wife and four children, Hunt said.