from
(snip)"On Tuesday, a judge sentenced a 16-year-old who killed four pedestrians in June. CBS in Fort Worth reports the incident occurred after Couch and some friends stole and consumed beer from a local Walmart.
After finishing the beer, Couch and seven others hit the road in Couch’s pickup truck to find another store. Couch, who admitted to driving, drove an estimated 70 mph in a 40 zone when he struck and killed four people. Although the state pushed for 20 years behind bars, a lenient judge spared Couch from jail and sentenced him to probation for ten years.
Couch’s blood alcohol level tested at .24, three times the .08 legal limit.
The defense argued that Couch suffers from “affluenza,” a condition that doesn’t hold him accountable for his actions because of excessive wealth. The defense successfully claimed that Couch’s privileged life didn’t allow him to distinguish between disruptive behavior and its effects. Previously, Couch avoided punishment after police found him passed out with a naked 14-year-old girl. Though Couch is underage, his parents allowed him to drink alcohol and drive when he was 13. As part of his sentence, Couch’s father will pay $450,000 for his son’s counseling at a private facility."(snip)
I'm still trying to 'wrap my mind' around this legal principle. Supposedly, if someone's family is rich enough to allow them to 'settle' their way out of every child problem with no adverse consequences to that child, in turn that privileged child can't be held responsible for additional future problems because that child is unable to distinguish that disruptive / illegal behavior in fact should result in appropriate punishment ( versus an expectation of privileged treatment ) ???
from Wikipedia ...
(snip)"In December of 2013, a North Texas teenager received a sentence of 10 years probation for driving while drunk and killing four pedestrians after his attorneys successfully argued that the teen suffered from affluenza and needed rehabilitation, and not prison. The teen was witnessed on surveillance video stealing beer from a store, driving with seven passengers in his Ford F-350, speeding, and had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit (0.24). A defense psychologist testified in court that the teen was a product of affluenza and was unable to link his bad behavior with consequences due to his parents teaching him that wealth buys privilege"(snip)



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Saw this story a few nites ago & am still trying to believe it actually happened. How far up their collective asses did the defence have to reach to find this shit??

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