"Affluenza" Defense for Vehicular Manslaughter - Teen Gets Probation for 4 Deaths

[Peikko 1,575]

Yeah blame the parents. Another way this kid can avoid taking any responsibility for his actions. His parents and the courts have set a precedent that he can blame his poor upbringing for any bad decisions he makes.

I predict this kid has a long future in prison ahead of him, because he's surely been given the message by the legal system and his parents that there are minimal consequences for killing multiple people.

I don't think the kid should've gotten 20 years either, but he should spend a few years in prison.

I was in constant legal trouble as a teenager and never took any of it seriously because they just kept letting me go over and over and over with rehabs, and what not. I was a master at manipulating my parents and blaming everything on them. They bought it hook line and sinker. So did the courts. When I turned 18 I was in legal trouble again and was given probation. Of course I still didn't take it seriously due to my previous experience. After a few minor probation violations, a federal judge gave me the max prison sentence (5 years) for violating my probation. Probably the best thing that ever happened to me looking back on it now.

While on the surface it seems like they're helping this kid, they're actually setting him up for failure.

He's an alcoholic, that's the major reason why he is going to a rehabilitation facility and not jail. I know everyone is banging on about how he's been let off because he's rich but 'affluence' is not a disease and no matter what seems to be being said here, the psychologist was not suggesting that it is, what he meant, and the term is stupid but there you go, what he meant is that the parents did not prevent him from doing all the things that parents normally prevent their children doing like drinking and getting drunk and hanging around acting like a ####### and they dealt with any harm he did by throwing cash at the problem. As an addict he needs to be rehabilitated or nothing will change and that is the primary driver for this particular solution ,that and being kept away from the parents. The parents are to blame for a sixteen year old being an alcoholic and having no moral compass. Morality is not instinctive, it's a learned behaviour. Where was he supposed to learn it?

[Karee 4,190]

He's an alcoholic, that's the major reason why he is going to a rehabilitation facility and not jail. I know everyone is banging on about how he's been let off because he's rich but 'affluence' is not a disease and no matter what seems to be being said here, the psychologist was not suggesting that it is, what he meant, and the term is stupid but there you go, what he meant is that the parents did not prevent him from doing all the things that parents normally prevent their children doing like drinking and getting drunk and hanging around acting like a ####### and they dealt with any harm he did by throwing cash at the problem. As an addict he needs to be rehabilitated or nothing will change and that is the primary driver for this particular solution ,that and being kept away from the parents. The parents are to blame for a sixteen year old being an alcoholic and having no moral compass. Morality is not instinctive, it's a learned behaviour. Where was he supposed to learn it?

How do you know he's an alcoholic? Even if he is, that doesn't mean squat. People can only be rehabilitated if they want it. Having to decide whether you want to spend a few years down Huntsville way versus spending time in a cush rehab center in near the beach in Cali seems like a pretty easy decision.

Hell I'd claim an addiction to puppy f*cking if it kept me out of prison and got me into a sweet setup in California. Has to be better than Huntsville.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The defense in a nutshell:

Couch's defense attorneys argued that the teenager is a product of something called "affluenza." It's a state of mind where the teen doesn't like bad behavior with consequences because his parents taught him that wealth buys privilege.

Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/12/ethan-couch-gets-no-jail-time-probation-in-fatal-drunk-driving-crash-98001.html#ixzz2nPDQgfGA
Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook

And now, while maybe addressing some of that alcohol issue he is having, he will most certainly continue in that very state of mind since his parents are able to and will foot the half a million dollar bill to get him into cozy rehab center instead of his serving at least the minimum recommended sentenced for the crime that he is - without dispute - guilty of.

The judge - and you - are wrong on this. Seriously.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

As for this spoiled brat and his parents, I sure hope that they'll be sued into poverty by the families of the victims in the sure to follow wrongful death civil proceedings.

[Karee 4,190]

As for this spoiled brat and his parents, I sure hope that they'll be sued into poverty by the families of the victims in the sure to follow wrongful death civil proceedings.

He was driving the father's company truck as well, so I'm sure the company will get sued. People that had nothing to do with any of it will probably lose their jobs due to the litigation. As usual the winners in all of this will be the lawyers. I'd love to see where this judge ends up since she's not running for re-election next time.

[wayoutofthebox 3]

Oh my...

How anyone could be so misinformed is simply staggering...

Prosecutor decided to take this to juvenile court.

Sentence was 2-20 with the first 2 in a juvenile detention center where if he had good behavior he would have been released, end of story; no further jail time no re-hab no way of knowing if past patterns will be repeated and no recourse if they do other than a whole new trial and whole new set of facts and circumstances.

This way the judge and the system and eventually society is able to keep an eye on him for ten years and if he screws up there won't be any juvenile detention just hard time.

Everyone's outrage is absurd in light of their reading comprehension (or lack there of) and awareness of the salient facts of this case and the law and how it is applied. Keep posting the links from media sites but don't really look into the case or the actual sentencing parameters and guidelines; god forbid you would actually know or understand the law as is applies in this situation. #######

As for the term affluenzea...it is a media hook to get you to read the story, created by the defense psychologist to most likely jazz up his testimony and lure the marginally sophisticated.

I will bet the judge was just rolling her eyes.

An an appeal to authority is a fallacious argument that states the argument is valid because a person or entity says it is so. It is not an appeal unless the argument is connected to the actual authority as reason for it being valid. Ex. Ronald Reagan said X therefore X is valid; this is an appeal to authority and is not a logical basis for a position in argument. Talking about the legal system and trying to explain that it is complex is not an appeal and really isn't an argument one way or the other regarding this case; it is a declarative about the nature of the legal system, nothing else.

I knew I would regret this but still I was drawn in; something about the logical chasms of the moronic and how you just hope they could take a moment to open their eyes...Alas!

Enjoy, you won't find me on this thread or in this section again!

Edited December 14, 2013 by wayoutofthebox

[Dakine10 5,452]

Everyone's outrage is absurd in light of their reading comprehension (or lack there of) and awareness of the salient facts of this case and the law and how it is applied. Keep posting the links from media sites but don't really look into the case or the actual sentencing parameters and guidelines; god forbid you would actually know or understand the law as is applies in this situation. #######

How is the law applied then? If you know so much more about it than everyone else, why go off on such a patronizing diatribe. Why not just let evryone know what is the typical sentence for a DUI that involves killing 4 people.

Please cite relevant case references to support your expert opinion.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Dakine10

[Karee 4,190]

Oh my...

How anyone could be so misinformed is simply staggering...

Prosecutor decided to take this to juvenile court.

Sentence was 2-20 with the first 2 in a juvenile detention center where if he had good behavior he would have been released, end of story; no further jail time no re-hab no way of knowing if past patterns will be repeated and no recourse if they do other than a whole new trial and whole new set of facts and circumstances.

This way the judge and the system and eventually society is able to keep an eye on him for ten years and if he screws up there won't be any juvenile detention just hard time.

Everyone's outrage is absurd in light of their reading comprehension (or lack there of) and awareness of the salient facts of this case and the law and how it is applied. Keep posting the links from media sites but don't really look into the case or the actual sentencing parameters and guidelines; god forbid you would actually know or understand the law as is applies in this situation. #######

As for the term affluenzea...it is a media hook to get you to read the story, created by the defense psychologist to most likely jazz up his testimony and lure the marginally sophisticated.

I will bet the judge was just rolling her eyes.

An an appeal to authority is a fallacious argument that states the argument is valid because a person or entity says it is so. It is not an appeal unless the argument is connected to the actual authority as reason for it being valid. Ex. Ronald Reagan said X therefore X is valid; this is an appeal to authority and is not a logical basis for a position in argument. Talking about the legal system and trying to explain that it is complex is not an appeal and really isn't an argument one way or the other regarding this case; it is a declarative about the nature of the legal system, nothing else.

I knew I would regret this but still I was drawn in; something about the logical chasms of the moronic and how you just hope they could take a moment to open their eyes...Alas!

Enjoy, you won't find me on this thread or in this section again!

Wow. You spent alot of time on that post. It's unfortunate you didn't make a point. You might want to stay away from Google Translate.

[Karee 4,190]

Yet in the next county over we have this:

December 13, 2013

Woman known as the 'Aledo Grinch' sentenced to 70 years prison

By CHRISTIN COYNE

ALEDO – A woman known as the “Aledo Christmas Grinch” after being charged with stealing Christmas decorations in the Aledo area last year was sentenced to 70 years in prison by a Parker County jury Friday after being found guilty of an unrelated burglary.

Dana Lanette Brock, 44, was convicted of burglarizing the garage of a home in the 100 block of Inglewood Drive near Aledo on May 28, taking a grass trimmer and power washer.

A homeowner caught the burglary on camera and deputies recognized the woman.

Months earlier, Brock was identified as a suspect in a series of Christmas decoration thefts in Aledo after surveillance photos from one theft were published by the media.

When deputies went to a residence in the 100 block of Rim Rock Road, where Brock was staying on May 28, they recovered the two stolen items and Brock admitted to the burglary of the garage, claiming she had been coerced, according to testimony Thursday.

“The defendant’s long criminal record played a major role in her sentence,” Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Catania said. “We introduced records showing that she had been convicted of solicitation of murder, two injury to a child offenses, two credit card abuse cases, two felony trespasses, two misdemeanor thefts, and numerous other unadjudicated offenses.”

Source:

http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/top-news/x1353063666/Woman-known-as-the-Aledo-Grinch-sentenced-to-70-years-prison

[Darnell 8,478]

As for this spoiled brat and his parents, I sure hope that they'll be sued into poverty by the families of the victims in the sure to follow wrongful death civil proceedings.

Me too ! Perfect re-balancing , IMO.

[sandinista! 1,816]

So 10 years probation and rehab is reasonable vs a prison sentence in which at least 2 years would be spent in a juvenile facility, and without significant changes occurring while in the juvenile facility, transfer to an adult facility for the duration of his sentence. The slightest possibility of parole in a couple years, which could be highly unlikely in the case of this mini sociopath, means let's just throw out any punitive response to getting wasted and plowing into 4 innocent bystanders? Sure, that makes sense. It's going to be a helluva lot easier for him to con and play the system on probation, in rehab in Newport Beach, than it would be in juvenile prison, with the same crappy programs that everyone else gets. If he's sincere in his intentions and wants to be better, he can do it there. If he means it, he could make it work there, despite how much more difficult it would be there. But at this point, that difficulty isn't anyone's problem but his own. He.needs.to.go.to.jail.

[Peikko 1,575]

Me too ! Perfect re-balancing , IMO.

If you had read about the case, which apparently I didn't, you'd know that they are being sued for damages. That may be the only way to get the parents into court.

[Peikko 1,575]

Yet in the next county over we have this:

Source:

http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/top-news/x1353063666/Woman-known-as-the-Aledo-Grinch-sentenced-to-70-years-prison

How on earth do you relate the two cases? I can't fathom that. Is it a way of saying that some people end up in and out of jail their whole lives? Yes, they do. Why is that? Probably because the system concentrates on incarceration rather than rehabilitation. That doesn't help anyone, not least the people languishing in US jails who likely shouldn't be there if more work was done in trying to prevent recidivism rather than assuaging public outrage.

Get rid of all the people who probably don't really need to be in prison ( a vast concentration of drug addicts for example) and you can concentrate your efforts on those that genuinely do and undoubtedly some people do.

Edited December 14, 2013 by The Truth™

[Karee 4,190]

How on earth do you relate the two cases? I can't fathom that. Is it a way of saying that some people end up in and out of jail their whole lives? Yes, they do. Why is that? Probably because the system concentrates on incarceration rather than rehabilitation. That doesn't help anyone, not least the people languishing in US jails who likely shouldn't be there if more work was done in trying to prevent recidivism rather than assuaging public outrage.

Get rid of all the people who probably don't really need to be in prison ( a vast concentration of drug addicts for example) and you can concentrate your efforts on those that genuinely do and undoubtedly some people do.

Granted she has a long criminal record, but I find it odd that she stole some lawn eqpt. out of a garage and gets 70 years in prison, yet this kid killed 4 people and gets probation.

Sorry I had to spell it out for you. I thought you'd get that on your own. I'll try to be more precise next time.

[Darnell 8,478]

If you had read about the case, which apparently I didn't, you'd know that they are being sued for damages. That may be the only way to get the parents into court.

Hey ! Don't get cranky on me - I'm just here for the Tea and Crumpets !

I'll be happy when the parents are living on welfare, after having to liquidate all to pay the damages awarded in the case.