Affluenza

Well, the Couch name is being bandied about all over the news and social media this morning. 

Not my name, thank God, but the name of Ethan Couch, a North Texas teenager who was convicted, then given probation for a DWI crash this past June that killed four people.  All told, there were eleven injured in the crash.

The 16-rear-old was driving his one-ton Ford at 70 mph in a 40 mph zone when he crashed into a stalled car, killing the driver and three people who had stopped to help.  His blood alcohol was .24 – three times the legal limit for someone old enough to drink.  Prosecutors said that Couch and the kids in his truck had stolen the beer at Wal-Mart.

His defense did not dispute the facts of the case, but argued that he deserved a break because his wealthy (and separated) parents had always given him everything he wanted and had never taught him right from wrong. 

A witness for the defense, psychologist Dr. G. Dick Miller, blamed the boy's parents.  He said that Ethan was the troubled product of a broken home who got whatever he wanted from his wealthy parents and didn't understand consequences. Miller called the teen a victim of "affluenza," a rich-kid syndrome that led him to believe money solved everything.

Apparently, State District Judge Jean Boyd bought at least some of their argument.  Instead of a possible 20 year prison sentence, she gave Couch 10 years probation. 

Finally, just so you know…..

Yes, Couch is my surname – and yes, Boyd was my mother’s maiden name – but to the best of my knowledge, neither Ethan nor the judge is related to me.  If Ethan’s parents really are that wealthy, I can be pretty darn sure they are not kin.