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GnarShredd
Wakeboarder.Commie
Joined: 16 Jun 2009
Posts: 2310
City: St Pete.
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 Posted: Feb 06, 2014 9:11 am Post subject: Well this is Infuriating |
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/05/no-jail-for-teen/5242173/
| Quote: | In a case with growing political ripples, a Texas judge's reaffirmation placing a teen involved in a drunken-driving fatal accident on probation is drawing fresh outrage from the victims' families.
Ethan Couch, 17, will be on 10 years probation after Texas District Judge Jean Boyd again decided against jail time. He'll also be in a drug and rehab center for an unspecified time. His defense team used an "affluenza" defense at his trial last year, saying the then-16-year-old had grown up with a sense of entitlement and developed poor judgment after being coddled by his wealthy parents.
Prosecutors said Couch's blood-alcohol level was three times Texas legal limit when his pickup slammed into a group of people who were helping a woman with a stalled car last June. The driver, Breanna Mitchell, and bystanders Brian Jennings, Hollie Boyes and daughter Shelby, were killed. Nine others were injured.
According to police, Couch was going 70 mph in a 40 mph zone when he lost control of his father's pickup and his blood alcohol content was 0.24. The state's legal limit for adults is 0.08.
Couch, who pleaded earlier to four counts of intoxication manslaughter, was back in court this week after prosecutors again sought a 20-year jail term related to the crash. But in a hearing closed to the media, Boyd reaffirmed her earlier sentence.
Two Texas gubernatorial candidates have spoken out in the case, while court observers and psychologists say the affluenza defense could be used in future cases involving juveniles, sending a dangerous message that could reinforce reckless behavior and poor judgment.
Couch had been cited earlier last year for being a minor in possession of alcohol and consuming alcohol as a minor, pleading no contest to both charges in a March hearing.
Victims' family members remain outraged.
"No matter where he goes ... no matter what game he and his family think they've beaten ... the world is not ever going to take their eyes off of him," said Marla Mitchell, Breanna's mother. "Let's let them know that no amount of money or prestige is ever going to grant them immunity for what they chose for their life that caused this for our lives."
Eric Boyles, who lost his wife and daughter in the accident, said news media should have been allowed in the juvenile court hearing.
"If anything, the ability to tamp this down, keep this quiet, let this go away is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Absolutely this story has to go on,'' he said.
The case could be a hot-button political issue. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has called Boyd's decision a disgrace. And Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican contender, said he's trying to determine if Couch's sentence can be appealed.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who serves as president of the Senate, has already asked for a sentencing guideline study of intoxication manslaughter cases. |
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Okie Boarder
Ladies Man
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 10056
City: Edmond
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| Posted: Feb 06, 2014 10:38 am Post subject: |
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Quite a shame, huh? I would expect we will hear about this kid again...he will probably destroy a few more lives.
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fish6942
Addict
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 603
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| Posted: Feb 06, 2014 10:52 am Post subject: |
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| When is the civil trial due to begin? |
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eeven73
PityDaFool Who Posts This Much
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 5377
City: Halfway
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| Posted: Feb 06, 2014 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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How does "Affluenza" make him less culpable.
Hard to believe, is there some other mitigating circumstance here?
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GnarShredd
Wakeboarder.Commie
Joined: 16 Jun 2009
Posts: 2310
City: St Pete.
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| Posted: Feb 06, 2014 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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I know nothing about lawyering but by their logic, shouldn't the parents then be held accountable since "it was their fault" somehow?  |
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jt09
Ladies Man
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 22083
City: Austin
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STPHNSN23
Guest
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| Posted: Feb 07, 2014 5:45 am Post subject: |
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| there was a rehearing on the sentencing i think. judge stuck with the original sentence. |
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Aubs
Motorboat Queen
Joined: 12 Jan 2003
Posts: 9167
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| Posted: Feb 09, 2014 8:23 am Post subject: |
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| Sad that this is what our government has come to... Our Founding Fathers are rolling over in their grave because of decisions like this... |
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LFADAM
PityDaFool Who Posts This Much
Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 5283
City: New York City
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| Posted: Feb 09, 2014 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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I seriously get mad every time I see something about this case. Makes my blood absolutely boil. This is one of those injustices that you just can't believe could actually happen that you might see in a movie and it's happening right in our own great country that's built on fairness, equality, etc.
I wonder if there will be any vigilante justice by friends or family |
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goofyboy
Wakeboarder.com Freak
Joined: 19 Jul 2004
Posts: 4463
City: Houston
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| Posted: Feb 10, 2014 4:26 am Post subject: |
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Why are you guys so upset about this? He's being sent to a mental institution. Not too many years ago, folks would be fried for being mentally unstable if they commited murder. Now they are tested to see if they are competent to stand trial. How is this any different? Just because it sounds hokey? Is it because you don't think justice was served? What about in cases of other mental illness?
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eeven73
PityDaFool Who Posts This Much
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 5377
City: Halfway
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| Posted: Feb 10, 2014 8:07 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Why are you guys so upset about this? |
Really? An affluent upbringing is a mental health problem.
I saw my neighbors dog humping our dog when I was 5, can I be excused from any accountability for the rest of my life?
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jt09
Ladies Man
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 22083
City: Austin
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| Posted: Feb 10, 2014 8:24 am Post subject: |
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| goofyboy wrote: | | He's being sent to a mental institution. |
????
| Quote: | | Boyd ordered Couch to be placed in a lock-down residential treatment center for an undisclosed amount of time and at his parents’ expense. Couch’s father had offered to foot the bill for a $450,000-a-year treatment center near Newport Beach, Calif., but it was unclear whether that’s where Couch will go. |
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