Drunk Driver Kills Four People and Gets Probation Because He Was Wealthy and Did Not Know Better [VIDEO]
All over the internet people are getting more and more enraged as the story of a drunk driver in Keller Texas getting off with probation in the deaths of four innocent people because he suffers from "Affluenza" which is a churched up way of saying "Spoiled Rich Brat!
For the record "Affluenza" is not a real illness, I describe it more as a "bulls#!& excuse".
16-year-old Ethan Couch and his friends stole some beer from a Walmart and got drunk. Ethan then got in his truck and drove 70 mph in a 45 mph speed zone. In the road ahead of him a lady and her daughter stopped to help a friend broken down on the side of the road. A local youth minister had also pulled over to help, when Ethen plowed into them killing all four people.
Two of Ethan's friends that were passengers in his pickup truck were also seriously injured, with one being unable to move or talk. Ethan wasn't hurt at all. His blood alcohol level tested at three times the legal limit in the state of Texas. (Legal for those over 21, since Ethan is only 16 his legal limit is actually 0.)
Ethan was charged with Vehicular Manslaughter and was facing fines up to $10,000 and 2 to 20 years in jail, but only got 10 years probation because his lawyers convinced the judge that Couch suffered from "Affluenza". That's the term sometimes used to describe a condition where some rich people think they can do anything they want. It is NOT recognized as any sort of illness, medical or Psychological.
The defense team got a quack psychologist by the name of Gary Miller to come in and testify to the jury. He said,
Ethan never learned that sometimes you don't get your way. He had the cars and the money. He had freedoms no young man would be able to handle."
A psychologist by the name of Dr. Gary Buffone thinks it is a horrible instance of the term "Affluenza" being confused with a real condition.
Essentially what [the judge] has done is slapped the child on the wrist for a very serious offense ... the defense is laughable, horrifying... not only haven't the parents set any consequences, but it's being reinforced by the judge's actions."
Since the crash last June, Couch has been staying at a resort-rehab type place in Newport Beach California at a rate of $37,500 per month. Of course, Daddy is covering the costs.
(TIME)