Affluenza teen strikes again
Affluenza is a psychological term that refers to young adults who were raised in a wealthy family showing a lack of responsibility and morality, and possessing an inability to comprehend that there are consequences to their actions. In 2013, a Texas teen, Ethan Couch, killed four and injured nine people after driving under the influence. His lawyers claimed that he had affluenza, that he was too spoiled to understand the severity of the crimes he committed. He was sentenced to rehabilitation and 10 years probation, rather than the normal sentence of 20 years.
Couch fled to Mexico early in December 2015 after a video of him playing a drinking game surfaced on Twitter, proving he was violating his probation. He and his mother fled to Mexico to escape further punishment for the teen. Couch dyed his hair darker and was residing in Puerto Vallarta until a fake pizza delivery led police to his capture.
Affluenza will most likely not be part of his lawyer’s argument this time after fleeing to Mexico. Couch is now 18 and still could be tried as a minor because he violated his sentence that he received as a minor. He and his mother have been extradited back to Texas and could be facing 120 days in jail as a juvenile and a few years’ probation. If he gets tried as an adult and receives punishment, he could face a year in jail and probation. If he violates probation as an adult, he could face 40 years in prison depending on the crime.
Signs of affluenza are apparent in Couch’s mother. When she was extradited back to Texas, she complained about the jail cells. “She expressed a slight displeasure about her accommodations, and I told her this was a jail and not a resort,” Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said at a news conference. Tonya Couch may face 10 years for helping a convict escape arrest.
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Carol Johnson is a senior at DCHS and is in her third year on the Parnassus staff. She participates in marching band, pep band, various other band-related...
Lisa Hollingsworth • Jan 15, 2016 at 2:09 pm
Very well-written.