teen given probation for killing 4 on "affluenza" defense - why not, Wall Street Bankers enjoyed the

[Bill USA]

Last edited Tue Dec 17, 2013, 04:46 PM - Edit history (1)

.. previlege. They destroyed the livelihoods of millions, nearly brought down the World economy and they didn't suffer any legal consequences. This boy is obviously destined to be a wall street banker ... or to occupy some other station in the plutocracy.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/us/teenagers-sentence-in-fatal-drunken-driving-case-stirs-affluenza-debate.html?_r=0

HOUSTON — Wealth has never had a stigma in the affluent suburbs of Fort Worth, where the town of Westlake landed, to no one’s surprise, on Forbes’ list of America’s most affluent neighborhoods last year with a median income of $250,000.

But in recent days, the implications of being rich have set off an emotional, angry debate that has stretched far beyond the North Texas suburbs, after [font size="+1"]a juvenile court judge sentenced a 16-year-old from a well-off family to 10 years’ probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving crash. [/font]

The judge, Jean Boyd, on Tuesday declined to give the teenager, Ethan Couch, the punishment sought by Tarrant County prosecutors — 20 years in prison — and instead ordered him to be placed in a long-term treatment facility while on probation. Judge Boyd did not discuss her reasoning for her order, but it came after a psychologist called by the defense argued that Mr. Couch should not be sent to prison because he suffered from “affluenza” — a term that dates at least to the 1980s to describe the psychological problems that can afflict children of privilege.

Prosecutors said they had never heard of a case where the defense tried to blame a young man’s conduct on the parents’ wealth. And the use of the term and the judge’s sentence have outraged the families of those Mr. Couch killed and injured, as well as victim rights advocates who questioned whether a teenager from a low-income family would have received as lenient a penalty.
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[Blus4u]

1. This whole deal...

nauseates me beyond belief. Bit by bit I am losing all faith that there is justice, integrity, or honesty left in anything

That is all I had to say.



Peace

[dougolat]

2. And the same judge threw the book at a 14 year old black kid...

...who punched a guy who fell and hit his head and died. (as cited by Anderson Cooper on another thread)