Affluenza

[taco.vidal]

A different set of rules for the rich?

On Tuesday, a Texas judge sentenced a wealthy 16-year-old boy to 10 years probation – instead of the possible 20-year prison term – for his role as the driver in a drunk driving crash that killed four people and injured two. At the time of the crash, Ethan Couch had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the Texas legal limit of .08 for an adult.


During the trial, defence witness, psychologist Gary Miller testified that Couch’s parents gave him “freedoms no young person should have,” according to the local ABC affiliate.

Miller described Couch as a product of affluenza, “where his family felt that wealth bought privilege and there was no rational link between behavior and consequences,” ABC reports.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

A different set of rules for the rich?

Sorry, but could you post the link to this story in your post?


I heard about this last night. I assume there will be a appeal.

[flylock shox]

If this was in Canada, I wouldn't be too suspicious. But this happened in Texas, where I assume the usual sentence would be death by firing squad with the body to be soaked in bourbon and lit on fire by the victims' families.

So yeah, it raises a few questions I'd say.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Money allows you to get away with oh so much in the American justice system. Lady Justice isn't blind, she has her eyes open on that money. America has two legal systems, the one for the rich and the one for everyone else.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

A different set of rules for the rich?

This is news? There has always been a different standard of justice for wealthy people in America (and, indeed, most other countries).

[Voodooman]

Here's a link to the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/11/us/tex...eck/index.html

This is a horrible miscarriage of justice. This punk killed 4 people. Fine, he's young, didn't have proper guidance, blah, blah, blah, but if you're responsible enough to operate a motor vehicle, you're old enough to accept the consequences. I'm not sure 20 years is exactly the answer, but there's no doubt in my mind this kid should spend at least 5 years in prison.

I saw this story on CNN and couldn't decide who I wanted to slap more, the parents, the therapist who came up with this crock of s**t, or the lawyer who defended him. How any of those people can sleep at night...

EDIT: In reading the story again, not only did he kill the 4 people, but he permanently disabled a friend of his who was in the back of his truck. This poor kid has a brain injury and can no longer walk or talk. And to top it all off, they stole the beer they got drunk on from Walmart.

Yeah, probation is totally the answer in this case.

[Voodooman]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

This is news? There has always been a different standard of justice for wealthy people in America (and, indeed, most other countries).

To quote the famous Johnnie Cochran...

"Innocent until proven broke"

[Senator Clay Davis]

Ultimately if you look into the judge's financial affairs, you'll probably find the answer as to why this sentence was imposed. Would love to see his history of sentencing in similar cases (drunk driving causing death by anyone, not just rich people)

[Northendzone]

seems the sentence continued to deliver some of the same freedoms he enjoyed growing up....

[Robo]

Well im an idiot I clicked on this thread thinking it was a new strain of the flu... still leaving the thread with a sick feeling in my stomach though

[Locke]

Yeah, very surprised that this happened in Texas.

I wonder when 'affluenza' becomes officially recognized as a disease in the US.

His sentence should be 10 years of forced homelessness to combat, if not cure, his deadly affliction.

[SebC]

This is Rob Ford's next defense.

[stazzy33]

I love how this sentence basically reinforced the reason for the sentence. Anyone seen Alanis?

[calgarywinning]

Where can I catch this disease? Sounds powerful.

[Delthefunky]

It's genetic. Passed on from one of the parents.

[TorqueDog]

I hate to play devil's advocate in this case since this is such a stupid excuse, but here we go...

We judge a person's actions based upon their understanding. We don't call well-fed cats who still kill mice 'evil', we judge actions based off an agent's understanding. So if someone has been raised their entire life to believe that they are subject to a different standard than everyone else, doesn't this mean they quite literally don't know any better?

[Delthefunky]

I'm not a lawyer, or a judge, or any kind of professional, but do we really judge people based upon their understanding? Mentally incapable I understand, but if your of legal age your subject to the law just like anyone else imo. Especially in this case, where there is such a high level of hypocrisy and double standards. So poor people should know better because they're raised to believe they aren't subject to a different standard? Or because they know they won't get any mercy from a judge?

I hear what your saying, but I don't see it as a valid (judicial) excuse...

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Delthefunky

I hear what your saying, but I don't see it as a valid (judicial) excuse...

No, and neither do I.


... I was really, really hammered last night when I posted that. But I do have to point out that drunk TorqueDog wasn't suggesting there was any legitimate reason for a rich person to expect to be treated differently, only that if you are raised with the idea constantly hammered into your head that you're not subject to the same rules as others (rich, poor, middle class, doesn't matter), you are going to have no reason to believe otherwise.

I don't think that's a valid excuse for such an insanely reduced sentence, that being said.

[Street Pharmacist]

I like the judge's reasoning.

"you've never had to deal with consequences before, why start now?"

[Senator Clay Davis]

Pardon my language, but #### this #######. Bury his ass in jail already.

The light sentence shocked America, particularly relatives of the four people killed because Couch’s drunk driving.

“You lived a life of privilege and entitlement, and my prayer is that it does not get you out of this,” said Shaunna Jennings, whose husband died in the accident. “My fear is that it will get you out of this.”

Earlier this month, that fear seemed to be confirmed when a video surfaced appearing to show Couch breaking his probation.

In a six-second clip posted to Twitter on Dec. 2, a blond teen strongly resembling the now-18-year-old Couch can be seen clapping and laughing during a raucous game of beer pong.

“Ya boy ethan couch violating probation,” wrote @BlondeSpectre, tagging both ​the city of ​Burleson, Tex., and the Tarrant County district attorney’s office. “I got more if u want.”

Authorities launched an investigation into the infamous teen’s behavior.

A Tarrant County sheriff’s spokesman told the Dallas Morning News that a judge would decide whether Couch violated his probation.

“He’s allowed due process at every level,” Tarrant County Sheriff’s spokesman Terry Grisham said. Cases “are not prosecuted or revoked or modified based on hearsay or based on a grainy video that we can’t identify someone in.”​

On Tuesday, though, Couch’s charmed life began to crumble once again when a judge issued a “directive to apprehend” him for missing a probation hearing, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Police are now searching for the troubled teen and his mom, with orders to detain the teen.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ter/?tid=sm_tw