Wealthy 16-year-old Texas teen steals beer, gets rip-roaring drunk, kills four pedestrians with speeding pickup truck, gets probation instead of jail time
On June 15, 2013, 16-year-old Ethan Couch and some friends stole two cases of beer from a Walmart in the Ft. Worth area. They proceeded to get rip-roaring drunk. With seven teen passengers in his speeding pickup truck, Couch ran down and killed four pedestrians on a dark road in Burleson, Texas. Two teens in the bed of the pickup were severely injured as well. Couch’s blood alcohol level was .24, three times the legal limit. Valium was also found in his system.
Couch pled guilty to four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of assault by intoxication causing bodily injury (to the two teenagers in the bed of the truck). Texas sentencing guidelines call for a 2-20-year prison term and a fine of up to $10,000. The judge, however, did not give him any jail time and opted instead for 10 years of probation.
District Judge Jean Boyd was influenced by the Affluenza diagnosis of psychologist Gary Miller. According to Miller, that affliction is the result of Couch’s wealthy parents letting him get away with anything. Miller testified that Couch ”never learned that sometimes you don’t get your way. He had the cars and he had the money. He had freedoms that no young man would be able to handle.”
It is almost impossible to fathom how a judge could actually take an absurd and phony psychological evaluation seriously and reward a spoiled brat, who killed four innocent people, with probation. Now another injustice has been added to the gross injustice already perpetrated in this case. Texas taxpayers are being stuck with most of the very costly tab for Couch’s rehabilitation at a state hospital.
Couch’s family had previously offered to pay $450,000 to have their ‘Affluenza’ afflicted son treated at a classy rehab center near Newport Beach, California, but the judge rejected the offer, opting instead for North Texas State Hospital near the rural town of Vernon.
The cost for treating a patient at that state hospital comes to about $21,500 a month, but according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Couch’s parents will be charged only $1,170 a month. That leaves Texas taxpayers stuck with over $20,000 for every month that spoiled affluenza afflicted creep keeps getting treated with kid gloves at a hospital when his sorry ass should have been sent to prison instead.
Lance Evans, the Couch’s attorney said the family "respects the decision of the facility and of the court, and will honor the payment system that the court has put in place." I wonder if he said that with a straight face because you can bet the family happily accepted what their small share of the cost will be and is laughing all the way to the bank.
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