Teen Avoids Prison Because He's Wealthy, Killed 4

A 16-year-old avoided spending time in prison for killing four people in a car accident in June after the judge bought his lawyers' argument that he was the victim of wealth.

CBSDFW reports that Ethan Couch was sentenced to 10 years probation for the drunk driving crash that ended the lives of youth pastor, Brian Jennings; Hollie and Shelby Boyles; and Breanna Mitchell.

Prosecutors asked that Couch serve 20 years in prison. His blood alcohol level was .24, three times the legal limit for an adult.

Psychologist G. Dick Miller testified for the defense that Couch suffered from "affluenza," a condition in which "his family felt that wealth bought privilege and there was no rational link between behavior and consequences," KHOU reported.

Miller said Couch's parents never punished him for his behavior, even when, in a separate incident, cops found him passed out in a car with a naked 14-year-old girl.

As part of his sentence, Couch will be sent to a private counseling center that costs $450,000, which will be paid for by his father.

Money and privilege has helped defendants avoid serious prison time for violent crimes before.

In a particularly clear example, cited by journalist Glenn Greenwald, hedge fund manager Martin Joel Erzinger served just 90 days in jail after driving the car that seriously injured a bicyclist and fled the scene of the accident in 2010.

The district attorney in the case charged Erzlinger with two misdemeanors instead of a felony, noting that "felony convictions have some pretty serious job implications for someone in Mr. Erzinger's profession."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/ethan-couch-sentenced_n_4426722.html?ir=Weird+News

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rich-kid-who-killed-four-spared-jail/story-e6freuy9-1226781114284

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/11/us/texas-teen-dwi-wreck/

I also have affluenza, i am going to buy an atomic bomb and get into Texas.

White people walks away of murder, again!!!

This is utterly disgusting. They say that his affluent upbringing didn't teach him about consequences for his actions and they proceed to reinforce that by not punishing him as a consequence for his actions, this is nothing short of a travesty of justice, hopefully this is appealed and he serves at least a decade in prison.

I wish I was rich.

Thank you. I'm sickened by this... its like people become less intelligent every day and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Damned kids and their cartoons!

So, because he's a spoiled brat he doesn't have to suffer consequences? The new age is terrible.

Where's the Punisher when you need him?

Its the fall of western civilization!!!

This is based on the legal ground that if you dont understand what was wrong with your actions, it wasnt wrong and wasnt a crime, since you didnt understand what is going on.

Its total bullshit, the worst part is that they didnt send this kid to Arkham Asylum, since if it was true he had a problem and he needs helps.

The fact he can walk away and live like if nothing happend is evidence of this BULLSHIT!!!

You honestly have no idea how much this ruling angers me, While I have no formal legal training myself I have a fair few friends who work in the legal field, and contrary to popular belief most lawyers are not actually terrible people. But back to the point, given my group of friends we frequently discuss legal matters and interesting cases, so I take a keen interest in seeing that the justice system operate properly. Seeing this disgusts me to a degree unfathomable, while tuxedo justice is a known factor in law, this ruling literally gives precedent to the idea that being wealthy somehow takes away your responsibility for your actions. The idea of lending any credence to this "Affluenza" angers me in that it is so far away from the principles of equality and equity in the justice system, the idea that your wealth can be the sole determining factor in whether you are responsible for your actions is wrong. There are thousands of kids out there, rich and not, who think their actions lack consequences, but the idea that money alone mitigates the punishment for your crimes, its lunacy! utter lunacy! lunacy upon lunacy! lunacy upon stilts! If this is not appealed and overruled this case will have successfully thrown the court of justice into severe disrepute, excuse me while I go punch some things out of anger.....

Yeah,this isn't really surprising.......

I mean,you're telling me that wealthier and more privileged people can get away with more things than other people? Especially in the "justice system"?? Get outta here.......

I don't really consider this new.

Wow. Damn.....this,too.

So pretty much if your rich, you can do whatever the f%#k you want and get away with it.

Whaaa?? You're telling me the rich are some how held at a higher class than the rest of us?!? That they can get away with things others would be punished for?!? I don't believe it.

Bruce Wayne should have just killed Joe Chill when he was ten then.

Card Race Nice!!!

You think this only happens in the west?

No, but the western point of view and life styles are the ones that were forced to the world in the last centuries, so the western point of view and lifestyle is the one that fails when things like this happen.

What an injustice.

@deathpoolthet1000: So does this mean we need to start treating rich kids like wild animals, you know so we can shoot them on sight now since they don't know any better than to kill you? Or is being broke still the bullet train to prison for those who harm the rich?

@joshmightbe: Well people treats poor people worst that animals, not seriously there is more people trying to stop hunting that stop the nutjobs that shot people in the border, there is more people trying to help the cows at McDonalds farms that the gypsies that were kicked out of france.

The Modern World, i would love to get back when the modern world wasnt so modern and so big.

@deathpoolthet1000: No back in olden times rich people didn't even need a BS legal precedent to get away with killing poor folks.

That why i say the modern times, during a time this thing werent as common as are getting today, there wanst so many rich people.

I like the modern world, i love it, but is think it got too massive for his own good, everything amplified in the modern world, i wnt to go back before everything amplified to this level.

Well, I'm gonna be in my bunker...

This totally sucks...

@deathpoolthet1000: Well statistically we're way safer now than we ever have been, this kind of stuff just gets more media coverage. This might sound horrible but really this is the best time in history to be poor, life still sucks for the poor but its significantly less sucky than it has ever been. It has always sucked to be poor and it always will but lets keep it in perspective here. Don't get me wrong I am not saying everything is all happy sunshine but the lifestyle of someone considered below the poverty line is actually better than most of the rich folks in pre roman Europe. There was a time when you had to be royalty to be able to afford things like books and food on a daily basis.

@king_saturn: I'm not advocating violence here but if rich people start getting beat up for no apparent reason I won't be surprised, but its a safe bet it'll be this kid's fault. Y'know if this story doesn't get buried under what skirt one of the Kardashians happens to be wearing today or some celebrity being passive aggressive to another one, cause I know my nations priorities.

@joshmightbe: Ah, positivism!!!

I cant belive is still alive.

I think everybody at this point knew human progress was an ilusion.

Every period of time had his negatives and positives, is just that the modern world is too proud of itself, i wnt to be back at the point before this happened to the "modern" world.

The modern world must learn that Technology is not progress.

@deathpoolthet1000: I have brief moments of optimism, it'll fade in about an hour.

After seeing the complete non reaction to this story, my optimism burst has faded. Apparently the news doesn't like to advertise that they just decriminalized manslaughter for a whole tax bracket.

The Dark Miracles of The Modern Society.

Shoot that is a great name for a wrestling stable or a metal band or a sky pirate movie.

And justice for all.

Justice may be blind, but she sure knows the smell of money.

Its just sad... imagine your family getting killed and the killer is just walking around not getting jailed. stupid spoiled brat.

Even here in our country you can steal 30 billion and still get away from it..

I just did research and saw this

@jeanralphio:

There's another case that Judge Jean Boyd presided on last year where she sentenced a 14-year-old boy to a 10-year sentence for punching a stranger in the face without provocation, a punch that resulted in the man’s death.

The poor kid does something stupid that results in one death and gets 10 years in prison.

The rich kid does something stupid that results in four deaths, one paralyzed victim, one brain damaged victim and about 8 other injured victims... and he gets ten years of probation.

Same Judge, different standards.

Some times society makes me want to buy a gun and play The Punisher on people asses.

Are you white?

@jeanralphio: Not really, i mean i could be part white, but i think that means a no.

Then don't go Punisher,you won't get away with it.

Point of the Day

I just need to call Phoenix Wright as my lawyer.

Doesn't him being underage protect him from going to prison for 20 years? Huh..

This is f*cked up.

judge should be locked up for even considering this motion. it disgusts me this shit happens

he still killed 4 people. in most states 16 is considered a adult

Correct. I've heard recently that these two 16-year old teens robbed this guy's phone and shot him in the head or something messed up like that. They're being tried as adults.

This is $#!%....... The U.S. "Justice" system is F-ed! I spend a year in jail for being a young dumb punk rock kid with a dime bag of weed, and this A-hole kills four people, and can go home and play Xbox! What the $#!%....... I'm soooooooooooooooo F-ing mad right now. Ignorance of the law does not mean the law does not exist. You would know that if you grew up poor you god damn son of a bitch...........

@deathpoolthet1000: @imagineman16:

are they becoming "less intelligent" or more greedy?

and deathpool, it's not the legal ground of "i didn't know that was wrong," its the legal grounds of, i'm rich and i didn't know i could do that.

be broke and try that "i didn't know that was a bad thing" in court, see how far it gets you being broke.

lastly, deathpool, do you watch sxephil?

I wish there was a Ghost Rider for people like this

In many cases, a lot more than most people would like to think, teens (especially minorities) are tried as adults. Others just spend their time in juvie and get transferred to an adult prison.

Isht like that pisses me off though.

American society unilaterally agrees that people under 21 are too immature to make decisions about drinking and/or buying booze, and yet 18 year olds can be shipped off to fight in foreign wars and 11 year olds can be tried as adults.