That’s the term used by a defense psychologist to explain how a 16-year-old did not deserve jail time for a drunk-driving crash that killed four people.
Dr. G. Dick Miller, testified that Couch’s life could be salvaged with one to two years’ treatment and no contact with his parents.
snip
Miller said Couch’s parents gave him “freedoms no young person should have.” He called Couch a product of “affluenza,” where his family felt that wealth bought privilege and there was no rational link between behavior and consequences.
My right eye twitches when I read that last paragraph because there are just so many things wrong with this whole story. But let’s back up a bit.
… on June 15th, 2013, Ethan Couch stole beer from a local Walmart, and retired to his parents’ home, where he drank enough to post a blood alcohol level of .24, roughly three times the legal limit.
http://www.heavy.com/news/2013…
He then got in a Ford F-350 pick-up with six friends to go joy-riding. Unfortunately, Breanna Mitchell’s SUV broke down and her friends Hollie and Shelby Boyles came out to help her while Brian Jennings stopped to help. All four would be killed when Couch plowed into them doing around 70 in a 40 mph zone.
Couch’s friends didn’t all walk away: Sergio Molina has been in a vegetative state since the accident.
On Tuesday 16-year-old Ethan Couch was sentenced to ten years’ probation.
State District Judge Jean Boyd ordered the 16-year-old to receive therapy at a long-term, in-patient facility. He will stay in Tarrant County juvenile detention until the juvenile probation department prepares a report about possible treatment programs.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2…
Apparently Ethan was both spoiled terribly by his parents from early age and used by his mother to control his father while the father couldn’t be much bothered with Ethan other than to throw money around to cover Ethan’s legal troubles.
So we’re supposed to think that putting this guy into a posh California one-on-one rehab center at an alleged $450,000 per year is going to teach this kid right from wrong and personal responsibility. We’re supposed to hope that he’ll violate probation (probably will) and then do time. Kind of like OJ spending time in jail for something that smells fishy because the prosecution couldn’t get him on the crime most (?) people think he did do.
I’ve had some mixed feelings about this until I decided that to excuse this kid because his wealthy parents might have helped screw him up is crap. Poor kids, the few middle-class kids that still exist, have parents who have screwed them up, too, but how many of them would walk away with probation? What if Ethan Couch was a wealthy 16-year-old person of color? Would he have walked away with probation?
Dr. Suniya Luther, a psychologist at Columbia University, who researches the costs of affluence in suburban communities, argued that the Couch sentence reflects a dangerous double standard: “What is the likelihood if this was an African-American, inner-city kid that grew up in a violent neighborhood to a single mother who is addicted to crack and he was caught two or three times … what is the likelihood that the judge would excuse his behavior and let him off because of how he was raised?” http://www.heavy.com/news/2013…
Whether or not he violates that probation is to me beside the point. And don’t tell me that a 16-year-old doesn’t know that stealing beer, even from Walmart, is illegal. Or that doing 70 in a 40 is illegal. No, he’s been taught that money buys him special privileges and this verdict did nothing to change the lesson that apparently began early on.
The notion of “affluenza” (I really do hate that term) as a defense is repugnant to me (and a lot of the internet) but
The idea behind the “affluenza defense”, that extreme wealth and privilege can be psychologically damaging, resonates with a growing body of sociological research that shows a negative correlation between social status and empathy. Other studies have demonstrated that upper class individuals have greater difficulty recognizing the emotions of others.
Berkley psychologist Paul Pliff hypothesizes that the cause of this discrepancy lies in the wealthy’s sense of freedom and independence from others, telling Scientific American that the less we rely on others, the less we tend to care about their feelings.
Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/news/2013…
Our justice system is skewed toward the wealthy. Is that to be expected? Accepted? Are we supposed to hope that Ethan Couch does violate probation so that he can do jail time for something? Or do we hope that therapy is successful and he emerges in a year or two a compassionate, healthy young man who will contribute positively to society? And what of his parents? Have they learned anything? They have not spoken publicly although that may change since the parents of Sergio Molina have filed suit against Ethan, his parents and the father’s metal works company seeking $20,000,000 in damages. I’m not a lawyer but I’d have to think that Ethan’s admissions in his guilty plea will not help with the civil suit.
29 comments