After watching this story unfold, it is quite disturbing to attain all the facts and hard evidence that were presented, and watching them all get thrown away. I can understand the victims families wanting to finally be at peace without any more court dates or even having to hear the Couch name but when you have this much on someone and all of the pain that he inflicted, why not ride it out and give the punk the punishment that he deserves? Now don't get me wrong; i'm all for forgiveness but is is very hard if even possible to forgive someone who has never had any type of punishment thrown at him. It's almost like he knew he was guaranteed freedom because of his dad's money. I don't care how much money someone has. If they break the law, then they need repercussions or else it will just happen again. The main argument is that he was a juvenile which is why this article was mentioned in this class. I agree that he is a juvenile but once you start making big boy decisions about drinking and driving then you should be prepared to be tried as a big boy in big boy court and once you are sentenced, they should send you straight to big boy prison. I know way too many people that think they are invincible because their parents have money and it grinds my gears because something will happen just like this and they wont even break a sweat. As far as the judge who sentenced him the first time is concerned, I can almost guarantee she was bribed in some way because absolutely no one in their right mind could sit in front of a 4 time murder and give them probation and rehab. The kid never had a problem. His problem is that he was never whooped as a kid so he grew up thinking that it will never happen to him. Just like the mother and daughter who thought they would never be killed while trying to help someone. It's a shame what this world has come to when you see how kids treat life because they were never taught to appreciate it. How can someone know that they took four lives in a single night because of alcohol, and then turn around and go to a party weeks later and play beer pong while his drunk friend tries to sure a table? How does that not affect him in any way. Obviously the probation wasn't enough to scare him because he just turned around and did it again knowing that daddy would bail him out if something were to happen. I know if I ever did this, I would hope they threw the book at me because it was my fault and I would want the victims families too know how guilty I am and let them know that they won't ever have to worry again because I will be incarcerated until I was an old man.GVFF007
I agree with you when you say that the amount of money someone has does not matter, if they break the law they need repercussions. There are so many people who think that just because they have some money, they can do whatever they want, and they will just pay their way out of things. It should not work like this. Despite the amount of money someone has, they should still be punished based off the severity of the crime that they committed. Something should be done to ensure that people with a lot of money cannot keep getting out of punishment for things that everyone else would be imprisoned for. -Fozz007
This is a crazy case to hear about. It is unbelievable how this kid basically got a slap on the wrist for doing what he did back in June of 2013. Multiple laws were broken the night of the crash by Ethan Couch. Something that really amazes me about this is the fact that Ethan’s parents played such a small role in his life. When being questioned about the incident with Ethan and how they handled it, the parents said that they did not really do anything, and they just hoped that it would never happen again. I believe that this incident was almost completely Ethan’s fault, do not get me wrong. However, I also believe that part of this falls on the parents. They were not very good parents and were almost non-existent in Ethan’s life. Ethan’s dad even lied about punishing Ethan following the tragic event! How could Ethan have grown up and for all of his life, just did whatever he wanted to whenever he wanted to, without being told anything otherwise? It is partially on the parents, as they were never involved enough to tell Ethan that in the real world, you will have to face consequences for certain actions that you do. Another thing about this case that surprises me is the fact that Ethan’s claim of “affluenza” actually worked. Yes, I can see how never being told “no” and having way more money than anyone should ever need could be a factor in certain incidents. But, in this specific case, there is no way that being affluent could have affected the way Ethan acted during the summer of 2013. Regardless of how much money someone has, I think that everyone knows that drunk/intoxicated driving is bad and should not ever be done. As they stated in the video, Ethan also had multiple drugs in his system along with the alcohol. So, he is trying to convince everyone that because of the amount of money that he had, he did not know that driving drunk and high could have a negative outcome. That is such a bad excuse that should not have gotten him out of any punishment. Which, this now brings me to my next and final point. The last thing I want to discuss is the fact that despite breaking multiple laws and ending the lives of four people, Ethan faced no jailtime at all. This is insane to think about. This 16-year-old kid killed four people and badly injured another all while driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. And yet, despite all of this, he faced no jailtime and fled to Mexico with his mother. Going back to how great of parents he had, his own mother helped him flee from authorities and get out of trouble in any way that they could. This entire case is insane to think about, due to the fact that a teen literally says that he is too rich to understand right from wrong. So, he did not know that driving intoxicated would come with a negative outcome and he decided that he would simply run from his problems. At some point, his problems will catch up to him and he will face the consequences. -Fozz007
I agree with you on some parts about his parents not teaching him what is right and what is wrong like fr how can Ethan know what he was doing was wrong if no one had never tell him. His parents should take some fault and what had happen on that day. The bigger picture is that their are a lot of bad parents out their that have made bad consequences but will never own up to it. I feel like Ethan consequence was right he still got in trouble for what he did and now he has to own up to it. With his probation sentence and also having to spend time in rehab. Smiles007
Wow, I can not believe what I just watched. It sickens me that there are people out there that are like that. The blatant disregard of the law and human lives is baffling. You are so rich that you can do what ever you want mentality just angers me. To just get 10 years of probation for killing four people is crazy. To me that is saying that this kids life is worth more than those four peoples lives. Amazing that Ethan’s’ parents were blatantly stupid about their child’s life. Your child was caught in a dollar general parking lot urinating, drunk, and driving at 15 years old. You would think right then and there my child has a problem and he needs help. Worse yet after that you give him a house to stay at by himself. He has a history of drinking but lets give him a place where he can do it when ever he wants. So many reasons to blame to why Ethan acts like he does. One is his parents never decided to discipline him. The father even lied when he said that he did discipline him by making him walk to work. Ethan dismissed that saying he never had to walk to work to his knowledge. His mother even took him to Mexico after the video of Ethan surfaced of him braking his probation. You know that’s good parenting making your child into a international fugitive to the law. Another reason is Ethan himself. He is at most to blame, no matter how much money you have and how much little discipline you have had in your life, it does not excuse the fact that you don’t have common sense. He is 16 and should have known right from wrong no matter if he was discipline or not as a child. It is absurd to me that his defense was that he was so rich that he didn’t know he was doing wrong. It is common knowledge that if you drink and drive something bad could happen. You don’t need to be discipline about that to know that, you can turn on the tv and watch a commercial telling you hey don’t drink and drive you could kill yourself or/and someone else. I cannot imagine what those family members went through when Ethan killed their loved ones and I hope I never will have to. I can understand that they wanted to put the past in the past and never hear from the Couch family again but to take the settlement was surprising. If that were me I would have done everything that I could to make sure that kid will never see the day of light again. No money in the world would have stopped me from achieving that goal. It saddens me that the first judge did not sentence Ethan to prison for the rest of his life. She made a bad call in just giving him a basically get of jail free card. I am glad that she retired just 2 years after this case. -ClarkKent007
Well as I was watching the begin of the video it was very sad to see innocent bystanders killed and to hear the stories of the people that were involved in the crash,the people that were not involved in the crash but saw what had happen. When the teenagers were telling the story of what had happen I was thinking to myself their were seven teens not including Ethan, they couldn't stop have stopped him from getting in the car intoxicated or could had took the car keys from him. So I feel like its the other teenagers fault too in the matter because their were ways that all this could have been prevented. And why would the teenager girl even make a statement that she need to go to the convenient store knowing that the other teens were very intoxicated. Like are you dumb or are you stupid? Like why didn't she ask before they started drinking. I just feel like those question need to be answered and not just pinned on it all on Ethan. In my opinion their all are responsibly for what had happen that day because they all was in the car. And I do not like how the documentation people explained the rehab facility like because he was in their he didn't think of what he had done. You do not know what was going thru his mind when he was in rehab, 20/20 just made it seem like Ethan was living the good life in rehab when he just killed and hurt a lot of people. At the end of the day Ethan is still a six-teen year old learning and messing up in life. The parents are responsibly because a child is not going to know things accept what the child see their parents do. And Ethan just had parents with a lot of money but bad parenting skill. As a country we see a lot of bad parenting going on and United State and do nothing about it until the child do something bad and then blame it on the child not the bad parent. Maybe as a country we can make a law that would have parents take a mandatory parenting class, not just like a couple months but like a year round class and then get a certificate but will have to take it again couple years from now. Lets see how that would impact juvenile crime rate but that just a thought. Their are many murders that claim insane so what's the difference that Ethan claim "affluenza". Ethan was a child that never learned what was right and what was wrong. So why should he get punished for something he wasn't taught? And when they were questioning the parents , most parents dont know what their teenagers do until they tell them or find out, so why was it surprised when they didn't know Ethan was drinking alcohol. And also most parents do not punish their children when they do something bad or the parents would give punish out but they would give in or dont go all the way through it. Now the question is here if you were a rich parent and your child did that would you have done the same as Ethan parent's had done or if you was in Ethan shoes would you have did what Ethan was told to do? And lets get very serious here most teenagers drink in drive or be behind the wheel intoxicating knowing that is against the law but do it any way. And when they get caught they act all innocent or mommie and daddie gets them out. I can go on and on about this topic, the time I would be done this would be a novel. My case is close here. Smiles007
There were a lot of things that I found interesting and sad in this documentary. The thing that surprised me the most was Ethan’s sentence. The judge gave him ten years of probation and he had to spend some time at a rehab facility and that facility was described as “spa like”. Ethan’s intoxication levels were three times the limit of an adult and that was checked three hours after the accident occured. Ethan said that the only thing he really remembers before the accident was pulling out of the driveway and he doesn't really remember anything after that. I don’t know what that judge was thinking but Ethan should've been sent to prison. Did the judge forget that he got four people killed and nine people injured? Did the judge forget that there are families that had loved ones taken away from them? Those are some things that are hard to forget. People were saying that Ethan doesn't know the difference between right and wrong because he had bad parents, I feel like everyone has either been told or heard the sentence “Don’t drink and drive”. That sentence has meaning and it’s said for a good reason! I kind of feel like that’s common sense but maybe some people don’t know that or they don’t know what common sense is. I feel like Ethan didn't care about what happened because he left the scene of the accident and Eric said he never received any form of apology for what happend. I also don't think he takes any of this serialosy because he was in a video on Twitter that showed him hanging out with someone people next to a beer pong table and then he disappeared with his mother shortly after that. I don't think he knows how much pain and sadness he has caused for those families that lost their loved ones. When the documentary showed the videos of them asking Ethan questions, he didn't even look sad or torn up about it. I don’t understand that Affluenza diagnosis. It doesn't even sound like a real word. They explained it as him being a child of privileged and he never heard the words “no” but I think that’s just bad parenting. His parents were never really around, they left him by himself all the time, didn’t discipline him or teach him anything, and they let him drive by himself at the age of thirteen. I think if his parents actually disciplined him and taught him right and wrong, none of this would've happened and the people that died that night might still be here today. I felt really bad for Eric because this all happened the night before Father’s Day and when he was explaining what if felt like to look and his cards and gifts that his wife and daughter got him, it broke my heart. One minute he has a wife and a daughter and then next minute they’re gone. When Ethan had his case moved to an adult court, he was sentenced two years to jail and that bothers me even more because he should be getting way more than that after what he has done. He got two years for violating his probation. Where is the rest of time behind bars for killing four people? -Soccer31007
After watching the documentary on Ethan Couch, I found it was sad and somewhat infuriating. Ethan in my opinion is a murderer that never got to pay for his crimes he committed. A judge giving him ten years probation in a almost resort like spa is a joke in my opinion. The kid never payed for his consequences nor did he ever show remorse for taking the lives of four people. The term “Affluenza” being thrown around in the trial was just another way to explain that Ethan was just never taught the core principles of discipline when you do something wrong. The defense painted him as a kid who grew up privileged with parents that never disciplined him. They let him stay in a home by himself at the age of thirteen as if he was a adult. There is no doubt in my mind that the parents lack of parenting in the long run paved the way for the actions that occured on that tragic June night. The fact of Ethan drinking and driving at three times the legal limit didn’t seem to make his parents wake up to the fact that Ethan might have a major problem just goes to show that either they are so oblivious or they just don’t care which is even more infuriating to think about. The families affected by Ethan is where it really gets sad. The dad, whose house practically was the scene of the accident, lost the most in the whole situation. He lost his wife and his daughter all in a matter of minutes. I could only imagine the aftermath he endured. Like he said family and friends got him through the tough times. I think these are the people that really haven’t gotten full justice against Ethan. I think most of these families would liked to have Ethan spend time behind bars for his actions, but sadly that didn’t happen till his case was moved to adult court. And even then it was only two years. If I was one of those affected families, I would still be under the impression he still hasn’t learned his lesson. Like the prosecutor said he should at least of gotten 10 years for every death that he caused. Sadly, that was not what he was given. In my opinion, he should be behind bars for his entire life for what he did. You could see through all his probation failures that he still didn’t care about the rules. He wanted to live his way and didn’t care about the consequences because he always had a good shot of getting out of trouble because of his past. At the end of the day the thing that made me the most mad was that both Ethan’s parents and him never showed emotion or empathy for the tragic situation that occured. That goes to show you what kind of people they are and it makes me sick to think they can live their lives that way. -CUBSFAN007
This case is both appalling and shocking from start to finish in multiple different ways. To begin with id like to say that I absolutely agree with the fact that Ethan couch should have been held fully responsible for his actions and punished for what he did. That being said, a punishment is not all that should have been in store for this boy. They should be provided both punishment and rehabilitation, not one or the other. He is not a child who should be let off with a slap on the wrist and a spa labeled as a rehab center. But he is also in no way an adult or hardened criminal who should be shut in prison for a life sentence. He is a 16-year-old boy, an adolescent coming of age, and he should have been treated as such from the moment this trial began. At that age your brain still has a lot of time left to develop, learn, and change. He still had a chance to be taught what the world is like and how to act in it. There is no arguing the fact that he should have already known how to go about daily life, but his upbringing is much different than most and he had parents who were obviously uncapable of parenting. The only difference between him and anyone else who drunk drives is luck. A lot of kids with his upbringing rebel in the exact same way but were lucky enough not to have taken the road he did that had 4+ innocent bystanders standing on the side to run in to. Because of that they are looked past and never provided with the discipline or knowledge of life that they should be. He is still a 16-year-old boy and the only thing he did differently than the other hundreds of thousands of 16-year-old boys who drunk drive every day is take that particular road on that particular night. It should have been taken seriously from the start but the statement the prosecutor made saying he isn’t sure Couch could be saved, and he doesn’t care one way or another is absolutely ridiculous. Couch isn’t a child and he knows right from wrong and any argument to the contrary is laughable but he is still young and can make mistakes, especially in an environment like the one he was raised in. He is just as much a product of his environment as anyone else. Could he have grown in that environment without taking a life? Yes. Have many others done it without killing four people and harming 9 others? Of course. But have many people also driven drunk as a teen and gotten lucky enough NOT to kill or harm anyone? Absolutely they have. And not all grow to be career criminals who can’t be saved. They CAN grow and change but a life behind bars takes that possibility away. They were a kid at the time and it doesn’t and shouldn’t define their whole lives or who they are. What it comes down to in the end is that he made a mistake. What ended being up the biggest mistake of his life. It comes down to the fact that he hurt people but the only difference between him and multiple others is money. Money let him off too easily but it’s just as likely that the bias that comes with someone being rich could get him punished too harshly. His parent’s income shouldn’t be a factor at all. His age is what should be. He is still a child. He is stubborn, irresponsible, narcissistic, and arrogant. But what 16-year-old boy isn’t? What he grew to be and do was just as much on his parents as it was on him, if not more, and he should be given the chance to fix it with a justified punishment and a fit rehabilitative system. Gray007
After watching the Affluenza video, I had some very mixed emotions towards this case. I felt very upset for the people who lost their lives in this accident and for their families. On the other hand, I was angry at the fact that Ethan Couch pretty much got away with murder and received no real punishment to make him pay for the multiple crimes he committed. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that after the crash, Ethan Couch decided to walk away from the crime scene instead of trying to help others. Another thing that really made me mad was how Ethan never said he was sorry to any of the families that were affected by his actions. After the crash, Ethan was taken to the hospital and there they found out that he not only had been drinking that night, but he also had traces of drugs in his system. In my opinion, Ethan Couch should have been sentenced to some prison time for killing innocent civilians while being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Instead of being incarcerated, Ethan was then put on probation for ten years which absolutely taught him no lesson at all. The way he received this “punishment” was after the judge stated that the teen had affluenza. In my opinion, Ethan was just never punished as a child and was not told the word “NO” one single time in his life. Ethan’s parents were not smart parents whatsoever. They never knew what was going on in their child’s life and they never disciplined him one single time. The fact that the father lied about punishing Ethan one time by making him walk to school for a month and Ethan saying he did not recall that ever happening shows that Ethan’s parents are terrible. They let their child drive at the age of thirteen and without a parent in the car with him. To me that sounds like two crimes right there. Along with Ethan being put on probation, he also was forced to attend a rehab facility. So Ethan pretty much had no punishment whatsoever. After two years of being on probation, the fact that someone caught Ethan Couch drinking and partying after all he had done shows that Ethan has some mental issues that cannot be fixed and that he needs to be locked away. Ethan Couch sees himself as better than everyone else and was obviously not sorry or upset about the crimes he had committed two years before. I thought it was very brave that a random girl stood up and told authorities about Ethan going out and partying which broke his probation rules. Once Ethan found out about someone posting a video of him on social media, he decided that running away with his mother would be the best option. I think his actions are of someone who is careless, immature, and just straight up ridiculous. The fact that he thought he could run from the U.S. by entering into Mexico shows he is not a smart human being. It also shows that his mother is not much smarter than he is for trying to help him escape. I think Ethan and his mother should spend a long period of time behind bars. The way that Ethan and his parents thought of themselves as better than everyone else really bothered me. I think a little punishment will do quite well for this dysfunctional family. KiiNG007
Watching this video was both sad and infuriating. Seeing how this scene played out and all of the stories behind it was sad. By watching this video you can see how multiple aspects could possibly be involved and how many people could be responsible. The one thing that baffles me is that this kid had no parenting in his life. They basically had such a small role in his life. Ethan was never told no and typically was the “ruler” of the house. Any kid raised that way is most likely going to be involved in some type of trouble. I definitely think that Ethan is fully responsible for this but I can also see how to parents could also be responsible. They never disciplined the kid which is more than likely going to create even bigger problems as he grows because he most likely doesn't know right from wrong or at the very least doesn't care because he will not be punished because he never has been. I mean bad parenting is definitely a part of this because his own mother fled with him to mexico to get him out of trouble. That is just absolutely ridiculous. How could his own mother be that insane to do that. I get the whole I want to save my child and do everything I can for him but that is just to extreme. There is definitely a line that needs to be drawn between helping your kid and having them face their consequences. It is very infuriating that he only got 10 years of probation and rehab for basically murdering 4 innocent people and injuring multiple other people in the process. Also the rehab was just a glorified spa. Moving to the fact that he claimed affluenza is just absurd. Basically claiming that your too rich to know right from wrong and doesnt know what he did was wrong is basically running away from your consequences. I would hope that every teen even if you are considered rich have the right mind not to get into a car while highly intoxicated and even better also drugged up, which creates a even more bigger problem. Another thing I was thinking about was that if his friends knew it was wrong how could they let him get into a car. Why wouldn't they take away the keys or something. If your his ‘friend” wouldn't you look out for one another, or are they just there for a good time. I definitely think the decision of his sentence was very poorly done by the first judge. That is also the sad reality of today that not every judge is going to be “good”. There are some that are going to see things differently and have different opinions and feeling for a case. I hope judges see cases like these and take into account poor decisions made by people. Ethan definitely murdered many people that night, and he should have been punished for his actions. He created sadness and horror that night for many many people, and most people should not have to go through that. -hollywood007
Watching the start of the video has already go me in “aw” like I understand that that’s your son and you want to do whatever you can to help him but me as a child I don’t know ever if would ever want to put my mother in a predicament to where she’s messing up her life and throwing it all away because of a stupid mistake that I made. Drinking and driving is the cause of a lot of death involving crashes, and it typically is caused by a young to middle aged teenage after being at a party deciding that it’s okay to get behind a thousand-pound vehicle. I also think that riding in the flatbed of a truck is dangerous even with the driving is sober, so I wouldn’t recommend riding in the flatbed of the truck with the driving being intoxicated and going at an extremely high rate of speed at this time of night. I can’t even describe what the husband and father is feeling after just talking to his family not even 10 min ago to walking outside to seeing them just completed ran over by a truck, that truly shows that in life one second everything’s going according to your daily life schedule then the next, your just gone. The fact that some of them made it out alive is seriously all up the lord because going that rate of speed, and never pumping the breaks it could’ve been way more detrimental than what it was God was seriously with them on that night. Okay, so he sent to an rehabilitation where it could pass for a 5 star vacation resort, not saying that’s a bad way of handling because some people gravitate to change a little bit differently but coming from an family where you was never told the world “NO” I wouldn’t consider this way of rehabilitation the way to go because for him for the simple fact that he is the cause for all the pain and suffering of these families are having to go through, and this is kind of a slap on the wrist. So, because that the young man parents didn’t show him how to be responsible you want to call him somewhat of a troubled child? There is no way because his mommy & daddy didn’t tell him “NO” that this child should get away with this kind of behavior, because at the end of the day there are some kids who parents did what they had to do so that their children could have whatever in the world they wanted, but you don’t see them out here acting like that can do whatever they please without any repercussions. As you get further into the video you start to understand and see where and which the problem really lays, yes the young man is to blame for the troubles for the other families and his but the parents of the young man plays a major part for the simple fact that the young just that he could whatever he wanted when he wanted and he could not be touch, he really thought that he was really invisible to the world until the day came where he found he can easily be touched just like the millions of other people in this world. Statechamp007
Watching the start of the video has already go me in “aw” like I understand that that’s your son and you want to do whatever you can to help him but me as a child I don’t know ever if would ever want to put my mother in a predicament to where she’s messing up her life and throwing it all away because of a stupid mistake that I made. Drinking and driving is the cause of a lot of death involving crashes, and it typically is caused by a young to middle aged teenage after being at a party deciding that it’s okay to get behind a thousand-pound vehicle. I also think that riding in the flatbed of a truck is dangerous even with the driving is sober, so I wouldn’t recommend riding in the flatbed of the truck with the driving being intoxicated and going at an extremely high rate of speed at this time of night. I can’t even describe what the husband and father is feeling after just talking to his family not even 10 min ago to walking outside to seeing them just completed ran over by a truck, that truly shows that in life one second everything’s going according to your daily life schedule then the next, your just gone. The fact that some of them made it out alive is seriously all up the lord because going that rate of speed, and never pumping the breaks it could’ve been way more detrimental than what it was God was seriously with them on that night. Okay, so he sent to an rehabilitation where it could pass for a 5 star vacation resort, not saying that’s a bad way of handling because some people gravitate to change a little bit differently but coming from an family where you was never told the word “NO” I wouldn’t consider this way of rehabilitation the way to go because for him for the simple fact that he is the cause for all the pain and suffering of these families are having to go through, and this is kind of a slap on the wrist. So, because that the young man parents didn’t show him how to be responsible you want to call him somewhat of a troubled child? There is no way because his mommy & daddy didn’t tell him “NO” that this child should get away with this kind of behavior, because at the end of the day there are some kids who parents did what they had to do so that their children could have whatever in the world they wanted, but you don’t see them out here acting like that can do whatever they please without any repercussions. As you get further into the video you start to understand and see where and which the problem really lays, yes the young man is to blame for the troubles for the other families and his but the parents of the young man plays a major part for the simple fact that the young just that he could whatever he wanted when he wanted and he could not be touch, he really thought that he was really invisible to the world until the day came where he found he can easily be touched just like the millions of other people in this world. Statechamp007
After watching the Affluenza video I was very shocked at how little of a punished Ethan had got. I don’t feel like being wealthy and having a lot of money makes it okay to do the multiple offenses that committed. I think that they basically let him get away with everything he did including killing four people with no punishment he just got 10 years probation and that’s not good enough. I think he should should have been sentenced to some prison time for what he did. In the the video it stated that not only did he have alcohol in his system there were also traces of other drugs. I feel like he should have gotten harsher sentence for getting in crash while under alcohol and other drugs let alone the other people he killed. I know that he may have had a different upbringing that most but he still should know right from wrong and that people get punished for that bad things that they do. In the video when it says he left the scene of the crime it should the he didn’t care at all about what he did. I am sure that the way the his parents raised him goes a long way to the actions that he made. His parents were terrible parents and the fact that his mom has seen him drunk before and did nothing about it shows that his mom just didn’t really care about what her son did. His dad lying about punishing his and making him walk to school when being interviewed shows that his dad is just as bad as his mom. The fact that the mom tried to run away to Mexico shows that she is not a very good parent. They also let him drive at the age of thirteen which shows that they never told their kid no and always wanted to please him. He was never punished at home and also got everything he wanted but he has to know that when you affect the many lives and families like he did that there would be a server punishment for it. The judge might have had a bias towards kids that are more privileged and that’s why it was sentenced that way. The judge chose to do little to nothing about his actions just like his parents which is why he was caught at a party validating his probation which is what caused his to run off to Mexico. Him at that party showed that he wasn’t taking what he did seriously at all. I feel bad for the families that were affected by his choices and couldn’t imagine how they feel. If that was one of my family members I could definitely feel like he got a away to easy. I feel like both him and his mom should be doing a lot of time for what they did. His mom tried to help him run away from his actions and that why his so messed up to begin with. ~hoop007
Ethan Couch was a spoiled young man, who clearly didn’t care about life. Ethan’s childhood was doomed, he never got in trouble, they taught him he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He started off driving at age 13. His parents taught him that they make the rules, the “rich people” and it really wasn’t any rules made. Ethan always threw parties when his parents was gone, and always drove drink more than twice. Four months before the crash he got pulled over for, driving while intoxicated, minor in possession of alcohol, public lewdness, providing alcohol to a minor, and driving without a proper license. Couch was let off easy, no trouble but community service which he never did. His mom did not tell the real story to his dad and the only made him walk to in from school, which he also says never happened. This was four months prior to the crash. The night of the crash his mom knew what him and his friends were up to. She texted him and the only thing she said was “don’t drive while drinking”. Ethan was driving over 70mph in seconds that night, the car loses control in side swipes a car that was broken down, then runs over four people and hits another vehicle before flipping over. Four lives were taken away, when he came to reality at the scene he got up in ran, instead of helping. He was found down the street laid out dazed by a mother and her teen child on their way to the crash to check it out. The AMT took him to the hospital and he was so drunk that he didn’t even want help. At the hospital is where he came back to reality at again. Ethan Couch 16 years old in his parents had allowed him to live in their old home all alone. Couch’s mother said he was supposed to be cleaning it out so it could get sold. The blood alcohol level was 3 times the adult limit, 3 hours after the crash!! Not only was Ethan drinking and driving but he also was on multiple other drugs. The lawyer for the victims wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get away with it, he wanted him charged with four manslaughter chargers while under the influence. Couch admitted to being guilty so not trail was available. The lawyer hired for Ethan Couch uses the word “Affluenza” saying he was spoiled in doesn’t know any better. He asks for “rehab” instead of “jail”. Couch was sentenced to 10 years’ probation and time in rehab. “Four lives and 9 injured and not a single day in prison” said the victim’s lawyer. The world goes crazy after hearing the “affluenza” term used!! A little while later a video goes viral of Ethan at a partying violating probation drinking, he missed his next probation visit. Ethan and his mother had skipped town. A while later Ethan was found in New Mexico, his mother in token to jail with a bond of 1 million, her bond was soon lowered. Ethan in token to juvenile jail till he turns 19. Once Couch turned 19 he was token to adult prison and sentenced to 180 days for each death, which is only almost 2 years for killing four people and injuring 9. LLTS78 007
Due to Ethan being a privileged child he just felt like he could do whatever without consequences, which happens all around. "Affluenza is a psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy young people". That term was made up from this case. Ethan's parents were rich, let him do whatever without discipline and supervision. Due to all of the freedom they allowed Ethan to have, a tragic accident happened. Innocent lives were lost because a selfish intoxicated child. Drunk teenagers were packed in a car, zooming off at 70 miles and a horrible car accident occurred. Ethan really had to have been a selfish little something if he really had the guts to just walk off. Was he that inconsiderate of others? Maybe he had the thought that he was just rich and could pay for the damages. I'm glad that somebody finally caught up with him. I find it crazy how his blood alcohol level was three times higher than the average adults level. And he was only 16. I've never drank anything and I'm 18 so I have questions. If I'm 18 now and never tried to do anything of the things he was done, what makes him feel it is okay to do such activities at the age of 16? I wonder if the parents feel guilty for his behaviors at all? In the book, it has a term called 'The General Strain Theory', could that describe Ethan. Due to such traits and the low level of discipline, Ethan and his family feels that everything is okay? You killed 4 people, that did nothing to you. The mother and dad could not possibly think that visits to a rehabilitation center was really going to work. Be realistic. Also, you'll hear all around how juveniles are always going to jail or being put in prison for things they didn't do. Well Ethan killed people, that is a criminal act. Why was that not the case for him? Am I the only one who feels that Ethan's parents neglected him? Another term in the book is neglect. Which means passive neglect by a parent or guardian. The mother also lied on a few occasions. She told them that she did not know about Ethan's drinking habits. Then the friends tells that she was telling him not to drink and drive? How ironic. Ethan was at an empty house by himself all the time at an early age. He also said how there was alcohol, drugs, and plenty of other things that he took around him in that house. The parents must've felt some type of guilt if they kept avoiding people back to back. With the fathers history of DUI's I would think that they would teach Ethan what not to do because I'm pretty sure the father received some type of punishment because of that. So wouldn't you want your child to not go through this in the future? The punishments given to Ethan and the parents were NOT enough. 10 years of probation and sentencing him rehab what's that going to do? Absolutely nothing at all. Murder normally gets someone life in jail and on top of that you were drunk. okurrr007
After watching this video I was completely in shock with the punishment Ethan Couch actually received. Having money and being wealthy is not an excuse for him to not know right from wrong. As a teenager you should automatically have a sense of what to do and not to do in certain situations. Ethan knew better than to get behind the wheel and drive under the influence. The video stated that he had previously been pulled over for driving under the influence. So don't tell me he “didnt know right from wrong in this situation” because he very much did. When he left the scene of the crime it tells you a little bit more of what kind of person he was, He didn't even check on his “friends” that got in the car with him..he just got out and left. This proves he did not care about what mess he had just caused. When another teen and his mother found Ethan in a ditch, Ethan repeated “Just remember my name, I’ll get you out of this” So this tells you Ethan had a sense that he had caused some kind of trouble, He knew he had done something. Ethan was a very spoiled teen who clearly did not care about anyone but himself. Ethan was sent to a rehab facility that could have very much well been passed off as a beautiful resort. He deserved one that would actually help him and not give him “another good place to be” He should have learned from his actions. As the video goes on you can really see that not only is Ethan a little far fetched but his parents are too. In the video it says the mother and father told him to clean the house up but later on that night the mother also texts Ethan and says “Don't drink and drive” So she knew exactly what he was really doing at the house, she knew that if he even was cleaning he wouldn't be for very long. Later on in the video it also says how Couch and his mother fled to Mexico in December and while there a video became public that showed Ethan violating his probation which shows us exactly that Ethan DOES NOT CARE. Ethan should have been locked up when the evidence proved he killed 4 people and injured multiple others. He should not have gotten a slap on the wrist for murder, this has shown him that if he can kill innocent people and honestly get away with it then anything is possible when it comes to him. No matter if you are rich or not you should have common sense when it comes to ILLEGAL actions. His mother should be sentenced just as much as Ethan should have. She fled with to Mexico, She was with him when he violated his probation from drinking, and she knew he was drinking the night of the accident. She is just as guilty as he is. -freckles007
From the first time I heard this story I was so hurt and sad by all the lives lost and for their families, as well as those who were injured. This documentary really makes me upset because like the saying says “money talks”. As I was reading some of the comments on Youtube there was one comment in particular that caught my attention. Has anybody investigated the judge at all? I also was thinking the same thing because as like I said money does talk. We know the family had large amount of money who is to say that they didn't pay or bribe her some money to give Ethan a sentence like that. Everybody knows his sentence was nothing but a slap on the wrist he didn't even spend any time in jail until the case was moved to adult court. Then when it was moved to the adult court im more surprised they only gave him little over 2 years in jail. This should have been moved to adult court from the beginning. From the very beginning there was no self discipline. His parents treated him like an adult instead of a young adult with rules and discipline. Not only did his parents give him everything he wanted but I also feel like maybe he was a threat to his parents and they were almost forced into giving in to him and his demands. I also believe his parents were buying him the alcohol and, they knew he was drinking. His parents knew exactly what he was doing but if they never showed discipline from day one, it surely was too late to try and do it at 15-16. Ethan was always enabled and it seems like he was never forced to take accountability for his actions. I guess him and his mom thought fleeing to Mexico was going to solve all their problems and they would never have to face the consequences. When the judge gave him the sentence, and I believe it was the younger boy’s father who said “the judge spit it in my face.” I agree that sentence was just a disrespect to the victims and their families. How can you really take accountability for what you did in a “spa like” rehab. Considering that wasn't his first time drinking and driving. There are some right and wrongs in life that you grow up knowing regardless of how rich or poor you are. One of those being dont drink and drive or text and drive because it can kill people. You also grow up being told “don't do drugs” because its bad for you. It's just certain things you should know not to do. In the video when somebody said “ ethan was too rich for jail” they weren't lying unfortunately, money can really buy your way of things especially if you have the money and know the right people. In the end the church leader’s wife said you have to learn to forgive, and its hard. It’s a lot easier to hate then to forgive. I'm a firm believe in karma and I also believe this is going to be on his conscious forever. -21Miami007
I think a whole lot of people got the same idea from this situation. Money does talk. It seems to override all of the rules in our society and I don't have any sort of idea about how exactly we're going to change that. All men are meant to be created equal in this nation but sadly if you have some dough in your pocket then the rules certainly do not apply equally across different cases. Perhaps this is something that the public ought to use to take a closer look at mandatory minimum sentences for these situations or judicial powers and decision making. -TaxSeason007
After watching this video on Ethan I am completely in shock. I can’t believe how much his parents let him do and how lenient they were with him. Letting a 16 year old kid be unsupervised at a house, much less a mansion, is completely crazy to me. What did they think a 16 year old kid would do with that much freedom? I know I would of partied every night until I got caught, and with that much money it would be really hard to do. Plus they never even disciplined him, which should have been their biggest focus when he was born into that much money. Even if this night never happened then this kid would turn out to be the biggest brat in America. I’m even more surprised at how the case turned out. I knew that someone can plea insanity in a case to try to get out of a sentence, because of the McNauhton rule, but I never thought it would work on something this big. From what I’ve read that pleading insanity is kind of the last defense that people will use because it’s saying that you don’t know right from wrong, which hardly ever applies. Ethan plead affluenza, which is similar to the insanity plea but you’re not insane, you’re just rich. I didn’t think the judge would believe that a kid could be so spoiled and so privileged that he doesn’t even know right from wrong. I think that Ethan very well knew right from wrong. He went through school, he watched TV, and had interactions with people that weren’t as wealthy as him. There’s no way that he could of thought that no matter what he did in life, his money could get him out of it. Especially not a case with this many people killed and the amount of charges that were put against him. If someone went up to Ethan the day before this horrific night and asked him if he did all of these things would he think that he would get away with it, I don’t think he would say yes. There’s no way that a kid can be this oblivious to how the law works and how this country works as far as crimes and penalties. I think that he should have been given jail time because even if he spends 20 years in jail, his life is still set for him once he gets out. This would of at least given the other families involved some sort of resolution, instead of just making them feel like it wasn’t a big deal in the eyes of the law. The parents should be sentenced to a lot of jail time for this because it was their inability to raise a child and punish a child that led to those people being killed. With all that money they couldn’t hire a babysitter? I definitely don’t agree with the whole affluenza defense because he murdered so many people and changed several families lives forever. It shouldn’t matter how spoiled he is, Ethan should pay for his wrongs. -BuffaloChickenDip007
It has always been a fairly common way of thinking among most of the people I know that the existing legal system seems to work to benefit the rich. They can afford the best lawyers who can run the best case that can get the best result from the judge. This case illustrates this perfectly and should feel like a slap to the face of the standard American person. Each human person feels empathy unless they are a sociopath or have narcissistic personality disorder. If this was the "Affluenza Teen" had felt either of these then that's what his defense should have been, not affluenza. The only saving grace in this, that I can see, is that the the defense got this defense to work for a minor. If it were for an adult then the outrage would be incomprehensible but I have an inclination to believe that minor's shouldn't be held as accountable for their actions as adults, even in a situation like this. Though I personally think that the main focus on this story should be on the mother. This mother, though I can understand what she was trying to do and why she was intending to do it, should have faced a harder punishment than she received. Her actions weren't what lead to the deaths of multiple people but she did try to obstruct justice for the most egregious offense. The kid, yeah he's a shit head. I'm not trying to excuse what he did, his actions lead him to do what lead to ruining lives, ending lives and causing the most intense pain possible to the parents of the victims. He was surrounded by religious people if I recall correctly so I don't understand how exactly the defense was able to claim he didn't understand the difference between what was right and what was wrong. He fully knew what he was doing was wrong on a moral and legal level, yet his parent's money bought his freedom. Judges, doctors, lawyers, etc... The public can see the dollar signs in their eyes like a video of Scrooge McDuck. They clearly abused their role in society for some cash. Laws are an agreed upon and codified set of rules among a society and the kid broke the rules but people lined up to save his hide. Money should simply not be allowed to be a tool to surpass the societal agreed upon code of conduct but.. it did and this is just the state of the nation it seems. Not to get up on a soapbox here, but it happens with our politicians and it happens in our courts and it is honestly hard to look anywhere when it comes to our officials where they aren't simply bought by companies or special interest groups. It's the opposite of the democratic ideals that America is meant to stand for and it should be incredibly disheartening for the average American person. So I'll get off my soap box here, but I do hope that we can see some major changes in our society eventually. -TaxSeason007
There are two criminal justice systems in America, one for those who have, money, power, influence and affluence. The other is for the rest of society that is not part of that class or social structure. Money and influence can buy a lot of things. Case and point being Ethan was born into affluence, entitlement, an air of invincibility in a sense. Throughout his life he did kept doing things that he should have gotten in serious trouble for. But, his parents believed in, "spare the rod, spoil the child". That was their biggest mistake, because it cost innocent people their lives, when their son who was still a minor got drunk, decided to get in his parents car, and got into a crashed that killed four people. That should have been some kind of wake-up call. But no, sadly his mother fled with him to Mexico to try and run away from all the problems that both of them fueled by enabling each other throughout their lives.
The parents hired a criminal defense attorney, who pulled off the impossible, they used the McNaughton Rule, citing the fact that Ethan grew up without valuing right from wrong, he thought that he was doing was acceptable, or not that serious because his family had money and affluence. Therefore, Ethan's attorney argued that Ethan suffered from Affluenza, which is either a disease or disorder, that people who are born into affluence can do and act in a certain way that is identifiable with the type of people they associate with. In other words, because they were horribly spoiled. Their concept of right and wrong, and the seriousness of knowing the difference between the two are seriously skewed. So they must in a sense be insane, because they are living in their own perceived reality that is totally different from the rest of society.
Ethan's attorney used this as the basis for his insanity plea, somehow the judge bought it. Ethan was only sentenced to two years for killing four people, drunk. Anyone can planely see that there is something horribly wrong with that legal decision but, the law states that juveniles cannot be given the death penalty, nor can they be sentenced to life in prison for capitol crimes. Therefore the judge had a lot of leeway in terms of the punishment they could hand down to Ethan.
As stated before, there are two criminal justice systems in America. Like it or not, the law is the law, laws are interpreted differently and applied differently in every single case. That is how it is and that is how the system works. Change is needed, fairness is needed. Yet, money talks, and b.s. walks.
Cases like Ethan's, have been happening ever since wealth, power, etc bought a lot of things, including getting off the hook for criminal offenses. Till the legal system in this country is fair, cases where affluence plays a part, will continue to occur. That is the reality we are living with. ---YouMustAcquit007.
I am honestly surprised that the parents did not also get fined for allowing their son to drink under the roof of a house they owned. I understand that in Illinois the adult at a party or the person who supplied the alcohol will also be held accountable for the underage drinking. I understand that several people are angry at Ethan Couch for killing those for people but under the law that would not be considered a murder charge, but rather Reckless Homicide, or as it is known in Texas, Vehicular Manslaughter, if my knowledge on criminal law is correct. There were so many drugs in Ethan’s system and there was so little supervision throughout his life that the people that knew him should have known that this was going to happen sooner or later. Something that I know people are trying to put through legislation today is mandatory counseling for both the parents and the offender if something like this happens and tougher punishments for the parents if they are proven to have knowledge of their teen committing these delinquent and reckless acts. I am honestly astounded that Ethan’s half-sister did not bring any of this up with either Ethan’s teacher or even the authorities. I know, nobody wants to see their parents put in jail, but if your parents are ignoring the fact that their son has been putting himself at risk for an extended amount of time and their immediate thought seems to be “Oh, he’s just a teen,” then there must have also been something wrong with your parents adolescence as well. One thing that I did find out that the documentary did not cover is that Ethan also had private education, something that I have known in the past to be even more overbearing than public school. I am surprised that he didn’t show up to school one day and get kicked out because he smelled of beer and marijuana. With the breaking of his probation is where I believe the public no longer felt any sympathy for the Couch family, as the mother seemed to be more than willing to attempt to keep her son out of jail for whatever reason. I don’t know any parents who wouldn’t take a bullet for their child, but once that same child is seemingly enjoying breaking the rules and trying to get “shot,” those same parents would just step out of the way and let nature do the rest. No one is above the law, no matter how much money they have at their disposal or what connections they may have. If it is not the courts that are bringing that justice upon them, it is the media and society making sure that those people feel like they are in prison with how little they can do without causing a riot or public outcry due to their actions. I believe that if another case like this were to come up today the public would immediately make sure that justice was done correctly and hold the right people accountable for whatever actions were done to cause the situation. -CAPMARVEL007
A young man committed so many illegal acts throughout this whole story and it is absolutely revolting that nothing was really done to him. He murdered four people and was charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. His blood alcohol content was a 0.24 which in Texas where he lives is three times the legal limit. He was driving what they determined to be 68-70 Miles per hour in a forty mile per hour zone. He paralyzed one kid in his truck and left another with a traumatic and permanent brain injury. Ethan disregarded everyone's life that night and that is horrifying cause he left a man without a wife and daughter. The father stated that he could not even tell that the person against the gate was his daughter from the amount of trauma she sustained. I am a emergency medical technician for a local ambulance company and that would mess with anyone, such a horrific trauma like that, let alone a father who just witnessed the murder of his wife and daughter knowing there was nothing he or anyone could really do. Then you have another father, Brian, of three and had a wife and he simply stopped to help Breanna and his life was taken from his whole family. Everyone had to pretty much witness all of this on scene or the following hours. Ethan stole beer and the police found traces of THC, other drugs as well from the home Ethan and his friends came from. Ethan was found passed out in a ditch and the man that found him stated that Ethan kept telling him that "I can get you out of this, I can clear your name, we will be okay". Ethan's family left him pretty much home alone and he was supposed to be cleaning when his family had already moved into a massive home, as his family owns a multi-millionaire dollar business. Ethan's friends begged him to slow down they all stated and he said that he was just going to swerve into oncoming traffic then. I think what is most disgusting with this story is Ethan barely got any time for it as he was released this April of 2018. There are people locked up for smoking weed or simply having large amounts of it and they are locked up for years more than Ethan was for that. I understand weed is illegal but some of these people that were caught with the drugs that get longer time than Ethan did were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. We all make mistakes as we are human but nothing about this case is justifiable. That is what is most upsetting. But I also did not like how in the beginning of this they really heavily pointed out his families money situation more than the situation itself. He is now out on an ankle monitor and has a curfew. These four people will never come back to life. Their families sentence and theirs is gone forever while Ethan got a slap on the wrist and a monitor slapped on his ankle.-notacop007
I never heard of this story before but after hearing about it, I was really disappointed with our criminal justice system. There are so many petty cases that get worse sentencing but because this is a privileged juvenile, its different. What was most upsetting was that Ethan never apologized for his mistake. I’m not saying that would have helped the case or him in any way but him not showing any remorse towards what he did, shows the type of kid these parents were raising. They never held him accountable after anything he did, so how was he suppose to learn when to know he was wrong. As a 16 year old, you should know from right and wrong even though it wasn't intentional. Mind the fact, there were 4 people dead, 9 injured, intoxication levels were 3x the legal limit for adults, reckless driving, other drugs involved, and there wasn't anything that showed he was responsible for this tragic story. I absolutely think this is his fault and he should have gotten immediate incarceration but I also think this has a lot do to with his parents. They can’t go to jail for not raising their son a certain way but they certainly did not raise him the correct way. Letting a 16 year old (teenager) home alone for days, after already knowing the type of trouble he had gotten into and also knowing his habits was negligent on the parents part. Even though the father didn’t know the full story 4 months before the accident, the mother should have dealt with Ethan differently. Also, the fact that nothing was done when he was found with a girl drunk driving. There clearly shows that money would always get Ethan out of trouble and he could continue to do whatever he wants. I think his mother raised him to think he didn’t have to worry about anything because she would always be there to get him out of trouble. She didn’t tell her husband the truth of what was going on either as a result of she didn’t want anything to become a big deal. The video mentioned “They showered him with everything expect the word no” and that is where they failed as parents especially if he was already getting into trouble. Also it mentioned the night of the accident, that Ethan’s mother told him to not drink that much and not to drink and drive. I was shocked because who in the right mind lets their kid who is 16 ( not fully mature), home alone, and lets them drink with friends who are also the same age. The psychologist Doc. Miller mentioned that “Ethan would have an 80% chance to be a full functioning citizen if he didn’t go to jail but if he did he would have a 10% chance”. Even after turning 18 he was still violating his probation as if he did not care about the lives that were lost. I think that his chance of being a functioning citizen was lost way before he got probation. Ethan had multiple opportunities to change his lifestyle before this accident happen and should have gotten multiple years after violating his probation and fleeing the country but once again it shows that money helps those who cannot help themselves. taco007
This story is completely bonkers! The fact that the parents didn’t want their son in trouble is ludicrous. I understand that it’s family, but you have to understand. Other families lost their family, and suffered non-repairable damage. I think that the Couch family had this attitude that they were better than everyone else, and this transferred to their son. Who told bystanders, “don’t worry about, just remember my name and I’ll get you out of this.” This is also proven when in court he seems not to care about anyone but himself. The fact that he admitted he was guilty was a surprise, not because of how guilty he was, but because he actually accepted some blame! The his defense came, affluenza! He was so privileged as a kid that he didn’t know right between wrong. Is this even a defense! I know negligences is a stand when you didn’t know that was a law. But come on. Everyone knows that underage drinking isn’t allowed in any state. We all also know that drinking and driving isn’t allowed either. We are taught this from a super young age. We see examples from every young, we even hear about it or use it to insult adults as kids! Ethan knew what he was doing was wrong. But with no parents to teach him no, why stop? So he didn’t. If even made friends that supported these decisions. One friend said he tried to get ethan to not drive but he just got mad. Dude, take the keys from the kids, or don’t get in! You are not innocent in this case, none of those kids are! Yes, they are intoxicated but if that was the case, and they couldn’t argue, then why did the kid say they did try to stop him but failed? The judge is insane! To say the least. The kid deserves a way harsher punishment then he got. So do the parents, they deserved to be punished for knowing about the party, and not making sure the kids safety was in check. They let Ethan get by with so much, that he figured his actions wouldn’t meet serve consequences. In fact, he didn’t even take his probation serious. He violated it, and went on the run! Lucky, he was caught but 2 years for murdering 4 people is stupid. I’ve seen videos of people getting a worst sentence for acting out in court. Yet, when Ethan doesn’t seem sorry for anything he’s done, or even apologize to the families. I feel that the judge should’ve seen this and taken action on it. The kid even had a previous encounter with drinking and driving with the law. Yet, none of these actions were even looked at by the judge. I personally believe that the judge should be investigated on. I truly believe she was bribed of some sort of payment. The sentences he got is ludicrous. Not to mention that the mom is yet to be sentenced to anything. I did try to look it up, but all I found was after being released from jail, due to her bond being paid, she failed some sort of drug test. Either way, the criminal justice system showed it’s bad side in this case, it doesn’t happen often but here it did. These cases are a part of the reason why some people are over sentenced. Since no judge wants to be the next “america's worst judge.” So, they make sure people don’t get mad at letting up on people who honestly do need a break. ^~^Itis007
I feel like Affluenza cannot be used as an excuse for Ethan’s actions. I do not think his family having money had anything to do with his behavior. If anything, it could have been from him being left alone all the time with money and so much freedom at a young age. Whatever excuse there is to make still does not make what he did okay. He is old enough to know right from wrong, even if his mom and dad did not discipline him. This sixteen-year-old teenager has killed and injured multiple people in this car accident then thinks it is fine. He deserves a harsher consequence than two years in jail. A crime like this is reasonable for a juvenile to be incarcerated with adults. Since he has been doing this for a while, his actions will not stop there. I know it was not Ethan’s intension to kill and hurt those innocent people, but he knows that he had drunken way too much and was in the wrong for trying to drive while drunk after some of his friends had told him that it was not a good idea. I am convinced that Ethan’s mother does not care about his future, seeing him go down the wrong path and did nothing to get him to change his life around. His mother knew that Ethan had been drinking and she has even had her daughter come to her about her concern with Ethan’s drinking and did nothing about it. She even seen Ethan and his friends drinking and did not try to stop it; did not act a bit concerned about where he had gotten the alcohol from. I still feel like Ethan’s mother should have got punished in some type of way or form because of her bad parenting but I guess it’s fine. His parents really put the idea in his head that he could basically do whatever he wanted and not get punished for it. This is why most children are bad now a days, because parents need to discipline their children at a young age. If not, they grow up to be hardheaded. They are the ones that do not listen to any adults and think they can do whatever they want. Not only did Ethan not get disciplined basically his entire life, meaning he did not learn a lesson from any of his wrong doings, the judge, the only person that could finally give him a punishment, did not. The judge gave Ethan no time in jail at all. How could she not give him any time in jail after driving under the influence, being a minor with alcohol, providing alcohol for other minors, an driving without a proper license; it does not make any sense. This only showed Ethan that he was really untouchable. Then I don’t know why the judge thought she would be able to get position back. That is all the woman will be known for after that case. -pieface007
Watching this video reminds me of the first time I watched a show over Ethan Couch. I was in Intro to Criminal Justice and I remember how mad it made me. It still is extremely irritating and I can’t believe how many laws were broken, that he got away with. I understand how his parents were barely around to tell him what to do, and he got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, but being a spoiled, rich kid who can apparently do no wrong, is not a good excuse. Despite being “never taught right from wrong,” I feel as if he could’ve maybe used his common sense to realize getting in a car drunk, and especially killing people while driving intoxicated, is wrong. That’s not something that is just an a-okay situation, slap on the wrist. After killing multiple people, and what should’ve been multiple DUIs, Ethan faced no jail or prison time. He also fled to Mexico with his parents. Anyone should know that killing someone and fleeing, should mean consequences but since he made up the worlds dumbest excuse on not knowing better, he still got off with no time. I feel extremely sorry for the families killed, since a spoiled, rich kid gets his way once again, without peace for their loved ones. Despite how rich you are, you shouldn’t be allowed to run from your problems. Stlblues007
After watching this story unfold, it is quite disturbing to attain all the facts and hard evidence that were presented, and watching them all get thrown away. I can understand the victims families wanting to finally be at peace without any more court dates or even having to hear the Couch name but when you have this much on someone and all of the pain that he inflicted, why not ride it out and give the punk the punishment that he deserves? Now don't get me wrong; i'm all for forgiveness but is is very hard if even possible to forgive someone who has never had any type of punishment thrown at him. It's almost like he knew he was guaranteed freedom because of his dad's money. I don't care how much money someone has. If they break the law, then they need repercussions or else it will just happen again. The main argument is that he was a juvenile which is why this article was mentioned in this class. I agree that he is a juvenile but once you start making big boy decisions about drinking and driving then you should be prepared to be tried as a big boy in big boy court and once you are sentenced, they should send you straight to big boy prison. I know way too many people that think they are invincible because their parents have money and it grinds my gears because something will happen just like this and they wont even break a sweat. As far as the judge who sentenced him the first time is concerned, I can almost guarantee she was bribed in some way because absolutely no one in their right mind could sit in front of a 4 time murder and give them probation and rehab. The kid never had a problem. His problem is that he was never whooped as a kid so he grew up thinking that it will never happen to him. Just like the mother and daughter who thought they would never be killed while trying to help someone. It's a shame what this world has come to when you see how kids treat life because they were never taught to appreciate it. How can someone know that they took four lives in a single night because of alcohol, and then turn around and go to a party weeks later and play beer pong while his drunk friend tries to sure a table? How does that not affect him in any way. Obviously the probation wasn't enough to scare him because he just turned around and did it again knowing that daddy would bail him out if something were to happen. I know if I ever did this, I would hope they threw the book at me because it was my fault and I would want the victims families too know how guilty I am and let them know that they won't ever have to worry again because I will be incarcerated until I was an old man.GVFF007
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that the amount of money someone has does not matter, if they break the law they need repercussions. There are so many people who think that just because they have some money, they can do whatever they want, and they will just pay their way out of things. It should not work like this. Despite the amount of money someone has, they should still be punished based off the severity of the crime that they committed. Something should be done to ensure that people with a lot of money cannot keep getting out of punishment for things that everyone else would be imprisoned for.
Delete-Fozz007
This is a crazy case to hear about. It is unbelievable how this kid basically got a slap on the wrist for doing what he did back in June of 2013. Multiple laws were broken the night of the crash by Ethan Couch. Something that really amazes me about this is the fact that Ethan’s parents played such a small role in his life. When being questioned about the incident with Ethan and how they handled it, the parents said that they did not really do anything, and they just hoped that it would never happen again. I believe that this incident was almost completely Ethan’s fault, do not get me wrong. However, I also believe that part of this falls on the parents. They were not very good parents and were almost non-existent in Ethan’s life. Ethan’s dad even lied about punishing Ethan following the tragic event! How could Ethan have grown up and for all of his life, just did whatever he wanted to whenever he wanted to, without being told anything otherwise? It is partially on the parents, as they were never involved enough to tell Ethan that in the real world, you will have to face consequences for certain actions that you do. Another thing about this case that surprises me is the fact that Ethan’s claim of “affluenza” actually worked. Yes, I can see how never being told “no” and having way more money than anyone should ever need could be a factor in certain incidents. But, in this specific case, there is no way that being affluent could have affected the way Ethan acted during the summer of 2013. Regardless of how much money someone has, I think that everyone knows that drunk/intoxicated driving is bad and should not ever be done. As they stated in the video, Ethan also had multiple drugs in his system along with the alcohol. So, he is trying to convince everyone that because of the amount of money that he had, he did not know that driving drunk and high could have a negative outcome. That is such a bad excuse that should not have gotten him out of any punishment. Which, this now brings me to my next and final point. The last thing I want to discuss is the fact that despite breaking multiple laws and ending the lives of four people, Ethan faced no jailtime at all. This is insane to think about. This 16-year-old kid killed four people and badly injured another all while driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. And yet, despite all of this, he faced no jailtime and fled to Mexico with his mother. Going back to how great of parents he had, his own mother helped him flee from authorities and get out of trouble in any way that they could. This entire case is insane to think about, due to the fact that a teen literally says that he is too rich to understand right from wrong. So, he did not know that driving intoxicated would come with a negative outcome and he decided that he would simply run from his problems. At some point, his problems will catch up to him and he will face the consequences.
ReplyDelete-Fozz007
I agree with you on some parts about his parents not teaching him what is right and what is wrong like fr how can Ethan know what he was doing was wrong if no one had never tell him. His parents should take some fault and what had happen on that day. The bigger picture is that their are a lot of bad parents out their that have made bad consequences but will never own up to it. I feel like Ethan consequence was right he still got in trouble for what he did and now he has to own up to it. With his probation sentence and also having to spend time in rehab. Smiles007
DeleteWow, I can not believe what I just watched. It sickens me that there are people out there that are like that. The blatant disregard of the law and human lives is baffling. You are so rich that you can do what ever you want mentality just angers me. To just get 10 years of probation for killing four people is crazy. To me that is saying that this kids life is worth more than those four peoples lives. Amazing that Ethan’s’ parents were blatantly stupid about their child’s life. Your child was caught in a dollar general parking lot urinating, drunk, and driving at 15 years old. You would think right then and there my child has a problem and he needs help. Worse yet after that you give him a house to stay at by himself. He has a history of drinking but lets give him a place where he can do it when ever he wants. So many reasons to blame to why Ethan acts like he does. One is his parents never decided to discipline him. The father even lied when he said that he did discipline him by making him walk to work. Ethan dismissed that saying he never had to walk to work to his knowledge. His mother even took him to Mexico after the video of Ethan surfaced of him braking his probation. You know that’s good parenting making your child into a international fugitive to the law. Another reason is Ethan himself. He is at most to blame, no matter how much money you have and how much little discipline you have had in your life, it does not excuse the fact that you don’t have common sense. He is 16 and should have known right from wrong no matter if he was discipline or not as a child. It is absurd to me that his defense was that he was so rich that he didn’t know he was doing wrong. It is common knowledge that if you drink and drive something bad could happen. You don’t need to be discipline about that to know that, you can turn on the tv and watch a commercial telling you hey don’t drink and drive you could kill yourself or/and someone else. I cannot imagine what those family members went through when Ethan killed their loved ones and I hope I never will have to. I can understand that they wanted to put the past in the past and never hear from the Couch family again but to take the settlement was surprising. If that were me I would have done everything that I could to make sure that kid will never see the day of light again. No money in the world would have stopped me from achieving that goal. It saddens me that the first judge did not sentence Ethan to prison for the rest of his life. She made a bad call in just giving him a basically get of jail free card. I am glad that she retired just 2 years after this case. -ClarkKent007
ReplyDeleteWell as I was watching the begin of the video it was very sad to see innocent bystanders killed and to hear the stories of the people that were involved in the crash,the people that were not involved in the crash but saw what had happen. When the teenagers were telling the story of what had happen I was thinking to myself their were seven teens not including Ethan, they couldn't stop have stopped him from getting in the car intoxicated or could had took the car keys from him. So I feel like its the other teenagers fault too in the matter because their were ways that all this could have been prevented. And why would the teenager girl even make a statement that she need to go to the convenient store knowing that the other teens were very intoxicated. Like are you dumb or are you stupid? Like why didn't she ask before they started drinking. I just feel like those question need to be answered and not just pinned on it all on Ethan. In my opinion their all are responsibly for what had happen that day because they all was in the car. And I do not like how the documentation people explained the rehab facility like because he was in their he didn't think of what he had done. You do not know what was going thru his mind when he was in rehab, 20/20 just made it seem like Ethan was living the good life in rehab when he just killed and hurt a lot of people. At the end of the day Ethan is still a six-teen year old learning and messing up in life. The parents are responsibly because a child is not going to know things accept what the child see their parents do. And Ethan just had parents with a lot of money but bad parenting skill. As a country we see a lot of bad parenting going on and United State and do nothing about it until the child do something bad and then blame it on the child not the bad parent. Maybe as a country we can make a law that would have parents take a mandatory parenting class, not just like a couple months but like a year round class and then get a certificate but will have to take it again couple years from now. Lets see how that would impact juvenile crime rate but that just a thought. Their are many murders that claim insane so what's the difference that Ethan claim "affluenza". Ethan was a child that never learned what was right and what was wrong. So why should he get punished for something he wasn't taught? And when they were questioning the parents , most parents dont know what their teenagers do until they tell them or find out, so why was it surprised when they didn't know Ethan was drinking alcohol. And also most parents do not punish their children when they do something bad or the parents would give punish out but they would give in or dont go all the way through it. Now the question is here if you were a rich parent and your child did that would you have done the same as Ethan parent's had done or if you was in Ethan shoes would you have did what Ethan was told to do? And lets get very serious here most teenagers drink in drive or be behind the wheel intoxicating knowing that is against the law but do it any way. And when they get caught they act all innocent or mommie and daddie gets them out. I can go on and on about this topic, the time I would be done this would be a novel. My case is close here. Smiles007
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of things that I found interesting and sad in this documentary. The thing that surprised me the most was Ethan’s sentence. The judge gave him ten years of probation and he had to spend some time at a rehab facility and that facility was described as “spa like”. Ethan’s intoxication levels were three times the limit of an adult and that was checked three hours after the accident occured. Ethan said that the only thing he really remembers before the accident was pulling out of the driveway and he doesn't really remember anything after that. I don’t know what that judge was thinking but Ethan should've been sent to prison. Did the judge forget that he got four people killed and nine people injured? Did the judge forget that there are families that had loved ones taken away from them? Those are some things that are hard to forget. People were saying that Ethan doesn't know the difference between right and wrong because he had bad parents, I feel like everyone has either been told or heard the sentence “Don’t drink and drive”. That sentence has meaning and it’s said for a good reason! I kind of feel like that’s common sense but maybe some people don’t know that or they don’t know what common sense is. I feel like Ethan didn't care about what happened because he left the scene of the accident and Eric said he never received any form of apology for what happend. I also don't think he takes any of this serialosy because he was in a video on Twitter that showed him hanging out with someone people next to a beer pong table and then he disappeared with his mother shortly after that. I don't think he knows how much pain and sadness he has caused for those families that lost their loved ones. When the documentary showed the videos of them asking Ethan questions, he didn't even look sad or torn up about it. I don’t understand that Affluenza diagnosis. It doesn't even sound like a real word. They explained it as him being a child of privileged and he never heard the words “no” but I think that’s just bad parenting. His parents were never really around, they left him by himself all the time, didn’t discipline him or teach him anything, and they let him drive by himself at the age of thirteen. I think if his parents actually disciplined him and taught him right and wrong, none of this would've happened and the people that died that night might still be here today. I felt really bad for Eric because this all happened the night before Father’s Day and when he was explaining what if felt like to look and his cards and gifts that his wife and daughter got him, it broke my heart. One minute he has a wife and a daughter and then next minute they’re gone. When Ethan had his case moved to an adult court, he was sentenced two years to jail and that bothers me even more because he should be getting way more than that after what he has done. He got two years for violating his probation. Where is the rest of time behind bars for killing four people? -Soccer31007
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the documentary on Ethan Couch, I found it was sad and somewhat infuriating. Ethan in my opinion is a murderer that never got to pay for his crimes he committed. A judge giving him ten years probation in a almost resort like spa is a joke in my opinion. The kid never payed for his consequences nor did he ever show remorse for taking the lives of four people. The term “Affluenza” being thrown around in the trial was just another way to explain that Ethan was just never taught the core principles of discipline when you do something wrong. The defense painted him as a kid who grew up privileged with parents that never disciplined him. They let him stay in a home by himself at the age of thirteen as if he was a adult. There is no doubt in my mind that the parents lack of parenting in the long run paved the way for the actions that occured on that tragic June night. The fact of Ethan drinking and driving at three times the legal limit didn’t seem to make his parents wake up to the fact that Ethan might have a major problem just goes to show that either they are so oblivious or they just don’t care which is even more infuriating to think about. The families affected by Ethan is where it really gets sad. The dad, whose house practically was the scene of the accident, lost the most in the whole situation. He lost his wife and his daughter all in a matter of minutes. I could only imagine the aftermath he endured. Like he said family and friends got him through the tough times. I think these are the people that really haven’t gotten full justice against Ethan. I think most of these families would liked to have Ethan spend time behind bars for his actions, but sadly that didn’t happen till his case was moved to adult court. And even then it was only two years. If I was one of those affected families, I would still be under the impression he still hasn’t learned his lesson. Like the prosecutor said he should at least of gotten 10 years for every death that he caused. Sadly, that was not what he was given. In my opinion, he should be behind bars for his entire life for what he did. You could see through all his probation failures that he still didn’t care about the rules. He wanted to live his way and didn’t care about the consequences because he always had a good shot of getting out of trouble because of his past. At the end of the day the thing that made me the most mad was that both Ethan’s parents and him never showed emotion or empathy for the tragic situation that occured. That goes to show you what kind of people they are and it makes me sick to think they can live their lives that way. -CUBSFAN007
ReplyDeleteThis case is both appalling and shocking from start to finish in multiple different ways. To begin with id like to say that I absolutely agree with the fact that Ethan couch should have been held fully responsible for his actions and punished for what he did. That being said, a punishment is not all that should have been in store for this boy. They should be provided both punishment and rehabilitation, not one or the other. He is not a child who should be let off with a slap on the wrist and a spa labeled as a rehab center. But he is also in no way an adult or hardened criminal who should be shut in prison for a life sentence. He is a 16-year-old boy, an adolescent coming of age, and he should have been treated as such from the moment this trial began. At that age your brain still has a lot of time left to develop, learn, and change. He still had a chance to be taught what the world is like and how to act in it. There is no arguing the fact that he should have already known how to go about daily life, but his upbringing is much different than most and he had parents who were obviously uncapable of parenting. The only difference between him and anyone else who drunk drives is luck. A lot of kids with his upbringing rebel in the exact same way but were lucky enough not to have taken the road he did that had 4+ innocent bystanders standing on the side to run in to. Because of that they are looked past and never provided with the discipline or knowledge of life that they should be. He is still a 16-year-old boy and the only thing he did differently than the other hundreds of thousands of 16-year-old boys who drunk drive every day is take that particular road on that particular night. It should have been taken seriously from the start but the statement the prosecutor made saying he isn’t sure Couch could be saved, and he doesn’t care one way or another is absolutely ridiculous. Couch isn’t a child and he knows right from wrong and any argument to the contrary is laughable but he is still young and can make mistakes, especially in an environment like the one he was raised in. He is just as much a product of his environment as anyone else. Could he have grown in that environment without taking a life? Yes. Have many others done it without killing four people and harming 9 others? Of course. But have many people also driven drunk as a teen and gotten lucky enough NOT to kill or harm anyone? Absolutely they have. And not all grow to be career criminals who can’t be saved. They CAN grow and change but a life behind bars takes that possibility away. They were a kid at the time and it doesn’t and shouldn’t define their whole lives or who they are. What it comes down to in the end is that he made a mistake. What ended being up the biggest mistake of his life. It comes down to the fact that he hurt people but the only difference between him and multiple others is money. Money let him off too easily but it’s just as likely that the bias that comes with someone being rich could get him punished too harshly. His parent’s income shouldn’t be a factor at all. His age is what should be. He is still a child. He is stubborn, irresponsible, narcissistic, and arrogant. But what 16-year-old boy isn’t? What he grew to be and do was just as much on his parents as it was on him, if not more, and he should be given the chance to fix it with a justified punishment and a fit rehabilitative system.
ReplyDeleteGray007
After watching the Affluenza video, I had some very mixed emotions towards this case. I felt very upset for the people who lost their lives in this accident and for their families. On the other hand, I was angry at the fact that Ethan Couch pretty much got away with murder and received no real punishment to make him pay for the multiple crimes he committed. The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that after the crash, Ethan Couch decided to walk away from the crime scene instead of trying to help others. Another thing that really made me mad was how Ethan never said he was sorry to any of the families that were affected by his actions. After the crash, Ethan was taken to the hospital and there they found out that he not only had been drinking that night, but he also had traces of drugs in his system. In my opinion, Ethan Couch should have been sentenced to some prison time for killing innocent civilians while being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Instead of being incarcerated, Ethan was then put on probation for ten years which absolutely taught him no lesson at all. The way he received this “punishment” was after the judge stated that the teen had affluenza. In my opinion, Ethan was just never punished as a child and was not told the word “NO” one single time in his life. Ethan’s parents were not smart parents whatsoever. They never knew what was going on in their child’s life and they never disciplined him one single time. The fact that the father lied about punishing Ethan one time by making him walk to school for a month and Ethan saying he did not recall that ever happening shows that Ethan’s parents are terrible. They let their child drive at the age of thirteen and without a parent in the car with him. To me that sounds like two crimes right there. Along with Ethan being put on probation, he also was forced to attend a rehab facility. So Ethan pretty much had no punishment whatsoever. After two years of being on probation, the fact that someone caught Ethan Couch drinking and partying after all he had done shows that Ethan has some mental issues that cannot be fixed and that he needs to be locked away. Ethan Couch sees himself as better than everyone else and was obviously not sorry or upset about the crimes he had committed two years before. I thought it was very brave that a random girl stood up and told authorities about Ethan going out and partying which broke his probation rules. Once Ethan found out about someone posting a video of him on social media, he decided that running away with his mother would be the best option. I think his actions are of someone who is careless, immature, and just straight up ridiculous. The fact that he thought he could run from the U.S. by entering into Mexico shows he is not a smart human being. It also shows that his mother is not much smarter than he is for trying to help him escape. I think Ethan and his mother should spend a long period of time behind bars. The way that Ethan and his parents thought of themselves as better than everyone else really bothered me. I think a little punishment will do quite well for this dysfunctional family. KiiNG007
ReplyDeleteWatching this video was both sad and infuriating. Seeing how this scene played out and all of the stories behind it was sad. By watching this video you can see how multiple aspects could possibly be involved and how many people could be responsible. The one thing that baffles me is that this kid had no parenting in his life. They basically had such a small role in his life. Ethan was never told no and typically was the “ruler” of the house. Any kid raised that way is most likely going to be involved in some type of trouble. I definitely think that Ethan is fully responsible for this but I can also see how to parents could also be responsible. They never disciplined the kid which is more than likely going to create even bigger problems as he grows because he most likely doesn't know right from wrong or at the very least doesn't care because he will not be punished because he never has been. I mean bad parenting is definitely a part of this because his own mother fled with him to mexico to get him out of trouble. That is just absolutely ridiculous. How could his own mother be that insane to do that. I get the whole I want to save my child and do everything I can for him but that is just to extreme. There is definitely a line that needs to be drawn between helping your kid and having them face their consequences. It is very infuriating that he only got 10 years of probation and rehab for basically murdering 4 innocent people and injuring multiple other people in the process. Also the rehab was just a glorified spa. Moving to the fact that he claimed affluenza is just absurd. Basically claiming that your too rich to know right from wrong and doesnt know what he did was wrong is basically running away from your consequences. I would hope that every teen even if you are considered rich have the right mind not to get into a car while highly intoxicated and even better also drugged up, which creates a even more bigger problem. Another thing I was thinking about was that if his friends knew it was wrong how could they let him get into a car. Why wouldn't they take away the keys or something. If your his ‘friend” wouldn't you look out for one another, or are they just there for a good time. I definitely think the decision of his sentence was very poorly done by the first judge. That is also the sad reality of today that not every judge is going to be “good”. There are some that are going to see things differently and have different opinions and feeling for a case. I hope judges see cases like these and take into account poor decisions made by people. Ethan definitely murdered many people that night, and he should have been punished for his actions. He created sadness and horror that night for many many people, and most people should not have to go through that.
ReplyDelete-hollywood007
Watching the start of the video has already go me in “aw” like I understand that that’s your son and you want to do whatever you can to help him but me as a child I don’t know ever if would ever want to put my mother in a predicament to where she’s messing up her life and throwing it all away because of a stupid mistake that I made. Drinking and driving is the cause of a lot of death involving crashes, and it typically is caused by a young to middle aged teenage after being at a party deciding that it’s okay to get behind a thousand-pound vehicle. I also think that riding in the flatbed of a truck is dangerous even with the driving is sober, so I wouldn’t recommend riding in the flatbed of the truck with the driving being intoxicated and going at an extremely high rate of speed at this time of night. I can’t even describe what the husband and father is feeling after just talking to his family not even 10 min ago to walking outside to seeing them just completed ran over by a truck, that truly shows that in life one second everything’s going according to your daily life schedule then the next, your just gone. The fact that some of them made it out alive is seriously all up the lord because going that rate of speed, and never pumping the breaks it could’ve been way more detrimental than what it was God was seriously with them on that night. Okay, so he sent to an rehabilitation where it could pass for a 5 star vacation resort, not saying that’s a bad way of handling because some people gravitate to change a little bit differently but coming from an family where you was never told the world “NO” I wouldn’t consider this way of rehabilitation the way to go because for him for the simple fact that he is the cause for all the pain and suffering of these families are having to go through, and this is kind of a slap on the wrist. So, because that the young man parents didn’t show him how to be responsible you want to call him somewhat of a troubled child? There is no way because his mommy & daddy didn’t tell him “NO” that this child should get away with this kind of behavior, because at the end of the day there are some kids who parents did what they had to do so that their children could have whatever in the world they wanted, but you don’t see them out here acting like that can do whatever they please without any repercussions. As you get further into the video you start to understand and see where and which the problem really lays, yes the young man is to blame for the troubles for the other families and his but the parents of the young man plays a major part for the simple fact that the young just that he could whatever he wanted when he wanted and he could not be touch, he really thought that he was really invisible to the world until the day came where he found he can easily be touched just like the millions of other people in this world.
ReplyDeleteStatechamp007
Watching the start of the video has already go me in “aw” like I understand that that’s your son and you want to do whatever you can to help him but me as a child I don’t know ever if would ever want to put my mother in a predicament to where she’s messing up her life and throwing it all away because of a stupid mistake that I made. Drinking and driving is the cause of a lot of death involving crashes, and it typically is caused by a young to middle aged teenage after being at a party deciding that it’s okay to get behind a thousand-pound vehicle. I also think that riding in the flatbed of a truck is dangerous even with the driving is sober, so I wouldn’t recommend riding in the flatbed of the truck with the driving being intoxicated and going at an extremely high rate of speed at this time of night. I can’t even describe what the husband and father is feeling after just talking to his family not even 10 min ago to walking outside to seeing them just completed ran over by a truck, that truly shows that in life one second everything’s going according to your daily life schedule then the next, your just gone. The fact that some of them made it out alive is seriously all up the lord because going that rate of speed, and never pumping the breaks it could’ve been way more detrimental than what it was God was seriously with them on that night. Okay, so he sent to an rehabilitation where it could pass for a 5 star vacation resort, not saying that’s a bad way of handling because some people gravitate to change a little bit differently but coming from an family where you was never told the word “NO” I wouldn’t consider this way of rehabilitation the way to go because for him for the simple fact that he is the cause for all the pain and suffering of these families are having to go through, and this is kind of a slap on the wrist. So, because that the young man parents didn’t show him how to be responsible you want to call him somewhat of a troubled child? There is no way because his mommy & daddy didn’t tell him “NO” that this child should get away with this kind of behavior, because at the end of the day there are some kids who parents did what they had to do so that their children could have whatever in the world they wanted, but you don’t see them out here acting like that can do whatever they please without any repercussions. As you get further into the video you start to understand and see where and which the problem really lays, yes the young man is to blame for the troubles for the other families and his but the parents of the young man plays a major part for the simple fact that the young just that he could whatever he wanted when he wanted and he could not be touch, he really thought that he was really invisible to the world until the day came where he found he can easily be touched just like the millions of other people in this world.
ReplyDeleteStatechamp007
After watching the Affluenza video I was very shocked at how little of a punished Ethan had got. I don’t feel like being wealthy and having a lot of money makes it okay to do the multiple offenses that committed. I think that they basically let him get away with everything he did including killing four people with no punishment he just got 10 years probation and that’s not good enough. I think he should should have been sentenced to some prison time for what he did. In the the video it stated that not only did he have alcohol in his system there were also traces of other drugs. I feel like he should have gotten harsher sentence for getting in crash while under alcohol and other drugs let alone the other people he killed. I know that he may have had a different upbringing that most but he still should know right from wrong and that people get punished for that bad things that they do. In the video when it says he left the scene of the crime it should the he didn’t care at all about what he did. I am sure that the way the his parents raised him goes a long way to the actions that he made. His parents were terrible parents and the fact that his mom has seen him drunk before and did nothing about it shows that his mom just didn’t really care about what her son did. His dad lying about punishing his and making him walk to school when being interviewed shows that his dad is just as bad as his mom. The fact that the mom tried to run away to Mexico shows that she is not a very good parent. They also let him drive at the age of thirteen which shows that they never told their kid no and always wanted to please him. He was never punished at home and also got everything he wanted but he has to know that when you affect the many lives and families like he did that there would be a server punishment for it. The judge might have had a bias towards kids that are more privileged and that’s why it was sentenced that way. The judge chose to do little to nothing about his actions just like his parents which is why he was caught at a party validating his probation which is what caused his to run off to Mexico. Him at that party showed that he wasn’t taking what he did seriously at all. I feel bad for the families that were affected by his choices and couldn’t imagine how they feel. If that was one of my family members I could definitely feel like he got a away to easy. I feel like both him and his mom should be doing a lot of time for what they did. His mom tried to help him run away from his actions and that why his so messed up to begin with. ~hoop007
ReplyDeleteEthan Couch was a spoiled young man, who clearly didn’t care about life. Ethan’s childhood was doomed, he never got in trouble, they taught him he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He started off driving at age 13. His parents taught him that they make the rules, the “rich people” and it really wasn’t any rules made. Ethan always threw parties when his parents was gone, and always drove drink more than twice. Four months before the crash he got pulled over for, driving while intoxicated, minor in possession of alcohol, public lewdness, providing alcohol to a minor, and driving without a proper license. Couch was let off easy, no trouble but community service which he never did. His mom did not tell the real story to his dad and the only made him walk to in from school, which he also says never happened. This was four months prior to the crash. The night of the crash his mom knew what him and his friends were up to. She texted him and the only thing she said was “don’t drive while drinking”. Ethan was driving over 70mph in seconds that night, the car loses control in side swipes a car that was broken down, then runs over four people and hits another vehicle before flipping over. Four lives were taken away, when he came to reality at the scene he got up in ran, instead of helping. He was found down the street laid out dazed by a mother and her teen child on their way to the crash to check it out. The AMT took him to the hospital and he was so drunk that he didn’t even want help. At the hospital is where he came back to reality at again. Ethan Couch 16 years old in his parents had allowed him to live in their old home all alone. Couch’s mother said he was supposed to be cleaning it out so it could get sold. The blood alcohol level was 3 times the adult limit, 3 hours after the crash!! Not only was Ethan drinking and driving but he also was on multiple other drugs. The lawyer for the victims wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get away with it, he wanted him charged with four manslaughter chargers while under the influence. Couch admitted to being guilty so not trail was available. The lawyer hired for Ethan Couch uses the word “Affluenza” saying he was spoiled in doesn’t know any better. He asks for “rehab” instead of “jail”. Couch was sentenced to 10 years’ probation and time in rehab. “Four lives and 9 injured and not a single day in prison” said the victim’s lawyer. The world goes crazy after hearing the “affluenza” term used!! A little while later a video goes viral of Ethan at a partying violating probation drinking, he missed his next probation visit. Ethan and his mother had skipped town. A while later Ethan was found in New Mexico, his mother in token to jail with a bond of 1 million, her bond was soon lowered. Ethan in token to juvenile jail till he turns 19. Once Couch turned 19 he was token to adult prison and sentenced to 180 days for each death, which is only almost 2 years for killing four people and injuring 9. LLTS78 007
ReplyDeleteDue to Ethan being a privileged child he just felt like he could do whatever without consequences, which happens all around. "Affluenza is a psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy young people". That term was made up from this case. Ethan's parents were rich, let him do whatever without discipline and supervision. Due to all of the freedom they allowed Ethan to have, a tragic accident happened. Innocent lives were lost because a selfish intoxicated child. Drunk teenagers were packed in a car, zooming off at 70 miles and a horrible car accident occurred. Ethan really had to have been a selfish little something if he really had the guts to just walk off. Was he that inconsiderate of others? Maybe he had the thought that he was just rich and could pay for the damages. I'm glad that somebody finally caught up with him. I find it crazy how his blood alcohol level was three times higher than the average adults level. And he was only 16. I've never drank anything and I'm 18 so I have questions. If I'm 18 now and never tried to do anything of the things he was done, what makes him feel it is okay to do such activities at the age of 16? I wonder if the parents feel guilty for his behaviors at all? In the book, it has a term called 'The General Strain Theory', could that describe Ethan. Due to such traits and the low level of discipline, Ethan and his family feels that everything is okay? You killed 4 people, that did nothing to you. The mother and dad could not possibly think that visits to a rehabilitation center was really going to work. Be realistic. Also, you'll hear all around how juveniles are always going to jail or being put in prison for things they didn't do. Well Ethan killed people, that is a criminal act. Why was that not the case for him? Am I the only one who feels that Ethan's parents neglected him? Another term in the book is neglect. Which means passive neglect by a parent or guardian. The mother also lied on a few occasions. She told them that she did not know about Ethan's drinking habits. Then the friends tells that she was telling him not to drink and drive? How ironic. Ethan was at an empty house by himself all the time at an early age. He also said how there was alcohol, drugs, and plenty of other things that he took around him in that house. The parents must've felt some type of guilt if they kept avoiding people back to back. With the fathers history of DUI's I would think that they would teach Ethan what not to do because I'm pretty sure the father received some type of punishment because of that. So wouldn't you want your child to not go through this in the future? The punishments given to Ethan and the parents were NOT enough. 10 years of probation and sentencing him rehab what's that going to do? Absolutely nothing at all. Murder normally gets someone life in jail and on top of that you were drunk. okurrr007
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video I was completely in shock with the punishment Ethan Couch actually received. Having money and being wealthy is not an excuse for him to not know right from wrong. As a teenager you should automatically have a sense of what to do and not to do in certain situations. Ethan knew better than to get behind the wheel and drive under the influence. The video stated that he had previously been pulled over for driving under the influence. So don't tell me he “didnt know right from wrong in this situation” because he very much did. When he left the scene of the crime it tells you a little bit more of what kind of person he was, He didn't even check on his “friends” that got in the car with him..he just got out and left. This proves he did not care about what mess he had just caused. When another teen and his mother found Ethan in a ditch, Ethan repeated “Just remember my name, I’ll get you out of this” So this tells you Ethan had a sense that he had caused some kind of trouble, He knew he had done something. Ethan was a very spoiled teen who clearly did not care about anyone but himself. Ethan was sent to a rehab facility that could have very much well been passed off as a beautiful resort. He deserved one that would actually help him and not give him “another good place to be” He should have learned from his actions. As the video goes on you can really see that not only is Ethan a little far fetched but his parents are too. In the video it says the mother and father told him to clean the house up but later on that night the mother also texts Ethan and says “Don't drink and drive” So she knew exactly what he was really doing at the house, she knew that if he even was cleaning he wouldn't be for very long. Later on in the video it also says how Couch and his mother fled to Mexico in December and while there a video became public that showed Ethan violating his probation which shows us exactly that Ethan DOES NOT CARE. Ethan should have been locked up when the evidence proved he killed 4 people and injured multiple others. He should not have gotten a slap on the wrist for murder, this has shown him that if he can kill innocent people and honestly get away with it then anything is possible when it comes to him. No matter if you are rich or not you should have common sense when it comes to ILLEGAL actions. His mother should be sentenced just as much as Ethan should have. She fled with to Mexico, She was with him when he violated his probation from drinking, and she knew he was drinking the night of the accident. She is just as guilty as he is. -freckles007
ReplyDeleteFrom the first time I heard this story I was so hurt and sad by all the lives lost and for their families, as well as those who were injured. This documentary really makes me upset because like the saying says “money talks”. As I was reading some of the comments on Youtube there was one comment in particular that caught my attention. Has anybody investigated the judge at all? I also was thinking the same thing because as like I said money does talk. We know the family had large amount of money who is to say that they didn't pay or bribe her some money to give Ethan a sentence like that. Everybody knows his sentence was nothing but a slap on the wrist he didn't even spend any time in jail until the case was moved to adult court. Then when it was moved to the adult court im more surprised they only gave him little over 2 years in jail. This should have been moved to adult court from the beginning. From the very beginning there was no self discipline. His parents treated him like an adult instead of a young adult with rules and discipline. Not only did his parents give him everything he wanted but I also feel like maybe he was a threat to his parents and they were almost forced into giving in to him and his demands. I also believe his parents were buying him the alcohol and, they knew he was drinking. His parents knew exactly what he was doing but if they never showed discipline from day one, it surely was too late to try and do it at 15-16. Ethan was always enabled and it seems like he was never forced to take accountability for his actions. I guess him and his mom thought fleeing to Mexico was going to solve all their problems and they would never have to face the consequences. When the judge gave him the sentence, and I believe it was the younger boy’s father who said “the judge spit it in my face.” I agree that sentence was just a disrespect to the victims and their families. How can you really take accountability for what you did in a “spa like” rehab. Considering that wasn't his first time drinking and driving. There are some right and wrongs in life that you grow up knowing regardless of how rich or poor you are. One of those being dont drink and drive or text and drive because it can kill people. You also grow up being told “don't do drugs” because its bad for you. It's just certain things you should know not to do. In the video when somebody said “ ethan was too rich for jail” they weren't lying unfortunately, money can really buy your way of things especially if you have the money and know the right people. In the end the church leader’s wife said you have to learn to forgive, and its hard. It’s a lot easier to hate then to forgive. I'm a firm believe in karma and I also believe this is going to be on his conscious forever.
ReplyDelete-21Miami007
I think a whole lot of people got the same idea from this situation. Money does talk. It seems to override all of the rules in our society and I don't have any sort of idea about how exactly we're going to change that. All men are meant to be created equal in this nation but sadly if you have some dough in your pocket then the rules certainly do not apply equally across different cases. Perhaps this is something that the public ought to use to take a closer look at mandatory minimum sentences for these situations or judicial powers and decision making.
Delete-TaxSeason007
After watching this video on Ethan I am completely in shock. I can’t believe how much his parents let him do and how lenient they were with him. Letting a 16 year old kid be unsupervised at a house, much less a mansion, is completely crazy to me. What did they think a 16 year old kid would do with that much freedom? I know I would of partied every night until I got caught, and with that much money it would be really hard to do. Plus they never even disciplined him, which should have been their biggest focus when he was born into that much money. Even if this night never happened then this kid would turn out to be the biggest brat in America. I’m even more surprised at how the case turned out. I knew that someone can plea insanity in a case to try to get out of a sentence, because of the McNauhton rule, but I never thought it would work on something this big. From what I’ve read that pleading insanity is kind of the last defense that people will use because it’s saying that you don’t know right from wrong, which hardly ever applies. Ethan plead affluenza, which is similar to the insanity plea but you’re not insane, you’re just rich. I didn’t think the judge would believe that a kid could be so spoiled and so privileged that he doesn’t even know right from wrong. I think that Ethan very well knew right from wrong. He went through school, he watched TV, and had interactions with people that weren’t as wealthy as him. There’s no way that he could of thought that no matter what he did in life, his money could get him out of it. Especially not a case with this many people killed and the amount of charges that were put against him. If someone went up to Ethan the day before this horrific night and asked him if he did all of these things would he think that he would get away with it, I don’t think he would say yes. There’s no way that a kid can be this oblivious to how the law works and how this country works as far as crimes and penalties. I think that he should have been given jail time because even if he spends 20 years in jail, his life is still set for him once he gets out. This would of at least given the other families involved some sort of resolution, instead of just making them feel like it wasn’t a big deal in the eyes of the law. The parents should be sentenced to a lot of jail time for this because it was their inability to raise a child and punish a child that led to those people being killed. With all that money they couldn’t hire a babysitter? I definitely don’t agree with the whole affluenza defense because he murdered so many people and changed several families lives forever. It shouldn’t matter how spoiled he is, Ethan should pay for his wrongs. -BuffaloChickenDip007
ReplyDeleteIt has always been a fairly common way of thinking among most of the people I know that the existing legal system seems to work to benefit the rich. They can afford the best lawyers who can run the best case that can get the best result from the judge. This case illustrates this perfectly and should feel like a slap to the face of the standard American person. Each human person feels empathy unless they are a sociopath or have narcissistic personality disorder. If this was the "Affluenza Teen" had felt either of these then that's what his defense should have been, not affluenza. The only saving grace in this, that I can see, is that the the defense got this defense to work for a minor. If it were for an adult then the outrage would be incomprehensible but I have an inclination to believe that minor's shouldn't be held as accountable for their actions as adults, even in a situation like this. Though I personally think that the main focus on this story should be on the mother. This mother, though I can understand what she was trying to do and why she was intending to do it, should have faced a harder punishment than she received. Her actions weren't what lead to the deaths of multiple people but she did try to obstruct justice for the most egregious offense. The kid, yeah he's a shit head. I'm not trying to excuse what he did, his actions lead him to do what lead to ruining lives, ending lives and causing the most intense pain possible to the parents of the victims. He was surrounded by religious people if I recall correctly so I don't understand how exactly the defense was able to claim he didn't understand the difference between what was right and what was wrong. He fully knew what he was doing was wrong on a moral and legal level, yet his parent's money bought his freedom. Judges, doctors, lawyers, etc... The public can see the dollar signs in their eyes like a video of Scrooge McDuck. They clearly abused their role in society for some cash. Laws are an agreed upon and codified set of rules among a society and the kid broke the rules but people lined up to save his hide. Money should simply not be allowed to be a tool to surpass the societal agreed upon code of conduct but.. it did and this is just the state of the nation it seems. Not to get up on a soapbox here, but it happens with our politicians and it happens in our courts and it is honestly hard to look anywhere when it comes to our officials where they aren't simply bought by companies or special interest groups. It's the opposite of the democratic ideals that America is meant to stand for and it should be incredibly disheartening for the average American person. So I'll get off my soap box here, but I do hope that we can see some major changes in our society eventually.
ReplyDelete-TaxSeason007
There are two criminal justice systems in America, one for those who have, money, power, influence and affluence. The other is for the rest of society that is not part of that class or social structure. Money and influence can buy a lot of things. Case and point being Ethan was born into affluence, entitlement, an air of invincibility in a sense. Throughout his life he did kept doing things that he should have gotten in serious trouble for. But, his parents believed in, "spare the rod, spoil the child". That was their biggest mistake, because it cost innocent people their lives, when their son who was still a minor got drunk, decided to get in his parents car, and got into a crashed that killed four people. That should have been some kind of wake-up call. But no, sadly his mother fled with him to Mexico to try and run away from all the problems that both of them fueled by enabling each other throughout their lives.
ReplyDeleteThe parents hired a criminal defense attorney, who pulled off the impossible, they used the McNaughton Rule, citing the fact that Ethan grew up without valuing right from wrong, he thought that he was doing was acceptable, or not that serious because his family had money and affluence. Therefore, Ethan's attorney argued that Ethan suffered from Affluenza, which is either a disease or disorder, that people who are born into affluence can do and act in a certain way that is identifiable with the type of people they associate with. In other words, because they were horribly spoiled. Their concept of right and wrong, and the seriousness of knowing the difference between the two are seriously skewed. So they must in a sense be insane, because they are living in their own perceived reality that is totally different from the rest of society.
Ethan's attorney used this as the basis for his insanity plea, somehow the judge bought it. Ethan was only sentenced to two years for killing four people, drunk. Anyone can planely see that there is something horribly wrong with that legal decision but, the law states that juveniles cannot be given the death penalty, nor can they be sentenced to life in prison for capitol crimes. Therefore the judge had a lot of leeway in terms of the punishment they could hand down to Ethan.
As stated before, there are two criminal justice systems in America. Like it or not, the law is the law, laws are interpreted differently and applied differently in every single case. That is how it is and that is how the system works. Change is needed, fairness is needed. Yet, money talks, and b.s. walks.
Cases like Ethan's, have been happening ever since wealth, power, etc bought a lot of things, including getting off the hook for criminal offenses. Till the legal system in this country is fair, cases where affluence plays a part, will continue to occur. That is the reality we are living with. ---YouMustAcquit007.
I am honestly surprised that the parents did not also get fined for allowing their son to drink under the roof of a house they owned. I understand that in Illinois the adult at a party or the person who supplied the alcohol will also be held accountable for the underage drinking. I understand that several people are angry at Ethan Couch for killing those for people but under the law that would not be considered a murder charge, but rather Reckless Homicide, or as it is known in Texas, Vehicular Manslaughter, if my knowledge on criminal law is correct. There were so many drugs in Ethan’s system and there was so little supervision throughout his life that the people that knew him should have known that this was going to happen sooner or later. Something that I know people are trying to put through legislation today is mandatory counseling for both the parents and the offender if something like this happens and tougher punishments for the parents if they are proven to have knowledge of their teen committing these delinquent and reckless acts. I am honestly astounded that Ethan’s half-sister did not bring any of this up with either Ethan’s teacher or even the authorities. I know, nobody wants to see their parents put in jail, but if your parents are ignoring the fact that their son has been putting himself at risk for an extended amount of time and their immediate thought seems to be “Oh, he’s just a teen,” then there must have also been something wrong with your parents adolescence as well. One thing that I did find out that the documentary did not cover is that Ethan also had private education, something that I have known in the past to be even more overbearing than public school. I am surprised that he didn’t show up to school one day and get kicked out because he smelled of beer and marijuana. With the breaking of his probation is where I believe the public no longer felt any sympathy for the Couch family, as the mother seemed to be more than willing to attempt to keep her son out of jail for whatever reason. I don’t know any parents who wouldn’t take a bullet for their child, but once that same child is seemingly enjoying breaking the rules and trying to get “shot,” those same parents would just step out of the way and let nature do the rest. No one is above the law, no matter how much money they have at their disposal or what connections they may have. If it is not the courts that are bringing that justice upon them, it is the media and society making sure that those people feel like they are in prison with how little they can do without causing a riot or public outcry due to their actions. I believe that if another case like this were to come up today the public would immediately make sure that justice was done correctly and hold the right people accountable for whatever actions were done to cause the situation. -CAPMARVEL007
ReplyDeleteA young man committed so many illegal acts throughout this whole story and it is absolutely revolting that nothing was really done to him. He murdered four people and was charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. His blood alcohol content was a 0.24 which in Texas where he lives is three times the legal limit. He was driving what they determined to be 68-70 Miles per hour in a forty mile per hour zone. He paralyzed one kid in his truck and left another with a traumatic and permanent brain injury. Ethan disregarded everyone's life that night and that is horrifying cause he left a man without a wife and daughter. The father stated that he could not even tell that the person against the gate was his daughter from the amount of trauma she sustained. I am a emergency medical technician for a local ambulance company and that would mess with anyone, such a horrific trauma like that, let alone a father who just witnessed the murder of his wife and daughter knowing there was nothing he or anyone could really do. Then you have another father, Brian, of three and had a wife and he simply stopped to help Breanna and his life was taken from his whole family. Everyone had to pretty much witness all of this on scene or the following hours. Ethan stole beer and the police found traces of THC, other drugs as well from the home Ethan and his friends came from. Ethan was found passed out in a ditch and the man that found him stated that Ethan kept telling him that "I can get you out of this, I can clear your name, we will be okay". Ethan's family left him pretty much home alone and he was supposed to be cleaning when his family had already moved into a massive home, as his family owns a multi-millionaire dollar business. Ethan's friends begged him to slow down they all stated and he said that he was just going to swerve into oncoming traffic then. I think what is most disgusting with this story is Ethan barely got any time for it as he was released this April of 2018. There are people locked up for smoking weed or simply having large amounts of it and they are locked up for years more than Ethan was for that. I understand weed is illegal but some of these people that were caught with the drugs that get longer time than Ethan did were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. We all make mistakes as we are human but nothing about this case is justifiable. That is what is most upsetting. But I also did not like how in the beginning of this they really heavily pointed out his families money situation more than the situation itself. He is now out on an ankle monitor and has a curfew. These four people will never come back to life. Their families sentence and theirs is gone forever while Ethan got a slap on the wrist and a monitor slapped on his ankle.-notacop007
ReplyDeleteI never heard of this story before but after hearing about it, I was really disappointed with our criminal justice system. There are so many petty cases that get worse sentencing but because this is a privileged juvenile, its different. What was most upsetting was that Ethan never apologized for his mistake. I’m not saying that would have helped the case or him in any way but him not showing any remorse towards what he did, shows the type of kid these parents were raising. They never held him accountable after anything he did, so how was he suppose to learn when to know he was wrong. As a 16 year old, you should know from right and wrong even though it wasn't intentional. Mind the fact, there were 4 people dead, 9 injured, intoxication levels were 3x the legal limit for adults, reckless driving, other drugs involved, and there wasn't anything that showed he was responsible for this tragic story. I absolutely think this is his fault and he should have gotten immediate incarceration but I also think this has a lot do to with his parents. They can’t go to jail for not raising their son a certain way but they certainly did not raise him the correct way. Letting a 16 year old (teenager) home alone for days, after already knowing the type of trouble he had gotten into and also knowing his habits was negligent on the parents part. Even though the father didn’t know the full story 4 months before the accident, the mother should have dealt with Ethan differently. Also, the fact that nothing was done when he was found with a girl drunk driving. There clearly shows that money would always get Ethan out of trouble and he could continue to do whatever he wants. I think his mother raised him to think he didn’t have to worry about anything because she would always be there to get him out of trouble. She didn’t tell her husband the truth of what was going on either as a result of she didn’t want anything to become a big deal. The video mentioned “They showered him with everything expect the word no” and that is where they failed as parents especially if he was already getting into trouble. Also it mentioned the night of the accident, that Ethan’s mother told him to not drink that much and not to drink and drive. I was shocked because who in the right mind lets their kid who is 16 ( not fully mature), home alone, and lets them drink with friends who are also the same age. The psychologist Doc. Miller mentioned that “Ethan would have an 80% chance to be a full functioning citizen if he didn’t go to jail but if he did he would have a 10% chance”. Even after turning 18 he was still violating his probation as if he did not care about the lives that were lost. I think that his chance of being a functioning citizen was lost way before he got probation. Ethan had multiple opportunities to change his lifestyle before this accident happen and should have gotten multiple years after violating his probation and fleeing the country but once again it shows that money helps those who cannot help themselves. taco007
ReplyDeleteThis story is completely bonkers! The fact that the parents didn’t want their son in trouble is ludicrous. I understand that it’s family, but you have to understand. Other families lost their family, and suffered non-repairable damage. I think that the Couch family had this attitude that they were better than everyone else, and this transferred to their son. Who told bystanders, “don’t worry about, just remember my name and I’ll get you out of this.” This is also proven when in court he seems not to care about anyone but himself. The fact that he admitted he was guilty was a surprise, not because of how guilty he was, but because he actually accepted some blame! The his defense came, affluenza! He was so privileged as a kid that he didn’t know right between wrong. Is this even a defense! I know negligences is a stand when you didn’t know that was a law. But come on. Everyone knows that underage drinking isn’t allowed in any state. We all also know that drinking and driving isn’t allowed either. We are taught this from a super young age. We see examples from every young, we even hear about it or use it to insult adults as kids! Ethan knew what he was doing was wrong. But with no parents to teach him no, why stop? So he didn’t. If even made friends that supported these decisions. One friend said he tried to get ethan to not drive but he just got mad. Dude, take the keys from the kids, or don’t get in! You are not innocent in this case, none of those kids are! Yes, they are intoxicated but if that was the case, and they couldn’t argue, then why did the kid say they did try to stop him but failed? The judge is insane! To say the least. The kid deserves a way harsher punishment then he got. So do the parents, they deserved to be punished for knowing about the party, and not making sure the kids safety was in check. They let Ethan get by with so much, that he figured his actions wouldn’t meet serve consequences. In fact, he didn’t even take his probation serious. He violated it, and went on the run! Lucky, he was caught but 2 years for murdering 4 people is stupid. I’ve seen videos of people getting a worst sentence for acting out in court. Yet, when Ethan doesn’t seem sorry for anything he’s done, or even apologize to the families. I feel that the judge should’ve seen this and taken action on it. The kid even had a previous encounter with drinking and driving with the law. Yet, none of these actions were even looked at by the judge. I personally believe that the judge should be investigated on. I truly believe she was bribed of some sort of payment. The sentences he got is ludicrous. Not to mention that the mom is yet to be sentenced to anything. I did try to look it up, but all I found was after being released from jail, due to her bond being paid, she failed some sort of drug test. Either way, the criminal justice system showed it’s bad side in this case, it doesn’t happen often but here it did. These cases are a part of the reason why some people are over sentenced. Since no judge wants to be the next “america's worst judge.” So, they make sure people don’t get mad at letting up on people who honestly do need a break.
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I feel like Affluenza cannot be used as an excuse for Ethan’s actions. I do not think his family having money had anything to do with his behavior. If anything, it could have been from him being left alone all the time with money and so much freedom at a young age. Whatever excuse there is to make still does not make what he did okay. He is old enough to know right from wrong, even if his mom and dad did not discipline him. This sixteen-year-old teenager has killed and injured multiple people in this car accident then thinks it is fine. He deserves a harsher consequence than two years in jail. A crime like this is reasonable for a juvenile to be incarcerated with adults. Since he has been doing this for a while, his actions will not stop there. I know it was not Ethan’s intension to kill and hurt those innocent people, but he knows that he had drunken way too much and was in the wrong for trying to drive while drunk after some of his friends had told him that it was not a good idea. I am convinced that Ethan’s mother does not care about his future, seeing him go down the wrong path and did nothing to get him to change his life around. His mother knew that Ethan had been drinking and she has even had her daughter come to her about her concern with Ethan’s drinking and did nothing about it. She even seen Ethan and his friends drinking and did not try to stop it; did not act a bit concerned about where he had gotten the alcohol from. I still feel like Ethan’s mother should have got punished in some type of way or form because of her bad parenting but I guess it’s fine. His parents really put the idea in his head that he could basically do whatever he wanted and not get punished for it. This is why most children are bad now a days, because parents need to discipline their children at a young age. If not, they grow up to be hardheaded. They are the ones that do not listen to any adults and think they can do whatever they want. Not only did Ethan not get disciplined basically his entire life, meaning he did not learn a lesson from any of his wrong doings, the judge, the only person that could finally give him a punishment, did not. The judge gave Ethan no time in jail at all. How could she not give him any time in jail after driving under the influence, being a minor with alcohol, providing alcohol for other minors, an driving without a proper license; it does not make any sense. This only showed Ethan that he was really untouchable. Then I don’t know why the judge thought she would be able to get position back. That is all the woman will be known for after that case. -pieface007
ReplyDeleteWatching this video reminds me of the first time I watched a show over Ethan Couch. I was in Intro to Criminal Justice and I remember how mad it made me. It still is extremely irritating and I can’t believe how many laws were broken, that he got away with. I understand how his parents were barely around to tell him what to do, and he got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, but being a spoiled, rich kid who can apparently do no wrong, is not a good excuse. Despite being “never taught right from wrong,” I feel as if he could’ve maybe used his common sense to realize getting in a car drunk, and especially killing people while driving intoxicated, is wrong. That’s not something that is just an a-okay situation, slap on the wrist. After killing multiple people, and what should’ve been multiple DUIs, Ethan faced no jail or prison time. He also fled to Mexico with his parents. Anyone should know that killing someone and fleeing, should mean consequences but since he made up the worlds dumbest excuse on not knowing better, he still got off with no time. I feel extremely sorry for the families killed, since a spoiled, rich kid gets his way once again, without peace for their loved ones. Despite how rich you are, you shouldn’t be allowed to run from your problems. Stlblues007
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