You may not have remembered the name Ethan Couch, but you likely remember what he did and what happened to him. Now, he is in the news again, and the reasonis not surprising.
When Ethan Couch was 16 years old, he was drunk and driving when he slammed his pickup truck into a parked SUV, killing four people and injuring 12 others.Charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault involving serious bodily injury, the teen faced up to20 years in prison for each count of manslaughter and up to 10 years in prison for each assault charge.
People were shocked when his attorneys mounted the "affluenza defense," which basically said that the teen was too spoiled to understand the consequencesof his actions. They were even more shocked when a judge bought it, sentencing Ethan Couch, the "poor little rich kid" to 10 years of probation.
What was especially hard for many people to fathom is that Couch was sentenced by the same judge who nearly a decade earlier sentenced another 16-year-oldto 20 years in prison for a fatal DUI accident. In that case, Eric Bradlee Miller was driving drunk when he struck and killed a 19-year-old husbandand father. Miller's background was much different from Couch's. He was the son of a drug-addicted mother, and he was being raised by his grandfather.
In sentencing Miller, Judge Jean Boyd said, "The court is aware you had a sad childhood, but you are fortunate to have a grandfather who is so committed and loves you.�
It seems to make little sense that a person whose defense was that he never had consequences or boundaries would be given a sentence that largely allowedhim to escape consequence. But it makes perfect sense that a lack of consequence would allow his bad behavior to continue.
When video surfaced of Couch allegedly violating his probation by continuingto drink, prosecutors began to investigate. However, the boy who had thus far avoided consequence declined to face the music again. Instead, he andhis mother fled to Mexico.
Yesterday, Couch's mother was arrested and charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon. Couch himself remains in Mexico, where he is fighting extraditionto the United States. He could remain south of the border for weeks or even months.
Of Tonya Couch, whose bail is set at $1 million, her attorney says, "While the public may not like what she did, may not agree with what she did, or may have strong feelings against what she did, make no mistake - Tonya did not violate any law of the state of Texas and she is eager to have her day in court."
If Ethan Couch, now 18, is ultimately returned to the United States and convicted for violating probation, he faces only 120 days in jail. A second probationviolation would have him facing 10 years in prison for each of the four deaths he caused.
