User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 27

Thread: Teen who killed 4 in DUI accident gets probation

  1. #1

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 152,038, Level: 93
    Level completed: 48%, Points required for next Level: 2,012
    Overall activity: 1.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialTagger First ClassCreated Album picturesYour first GroupRecommendation First Class50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Adelaide's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    341325
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    N. Pole and VA
    Posts
    30,757
    Points
    152,038
    Level
    93
    Thanks Given
    4,025
    Thanked 18,449x in 11,739 Posts
    Mentioned
    1723 Post(s)
    Tagged
    3 Thread(s)

    Teen who killed 4 in DUI accident gets probation

    To families of the victims, Ethan Couch was a killer on the road, a drunken teenage driver who caused a crash that left four people dead.

    To the defense, the youth is himself a victim -- of "affuenza," according to one psychologist -- the product of wealthy, privileged parents who never set limits for the boy.

    To a judge, who sentenced Couch to 10 years' probation but no jail time, he's a defendant in need of treatment.

    The decision disappointed prosecutors and stunned victims' family members, who say they feel that Couch got off too easy. Prosecutors had asked for the maximum of 20 years behind bars.

    Lawyers for Couch, 16, had argued that the teen's parents should share a part of the blame for the crash because they never set limits for the boy and gave him everything he wanted.
    Texas teen Ethan Couch gets 10 years' probation for deadly DWI - CNN

    This is ridiculous - yes, the parents may very well have had too few rules in place but anyone with half a $#@!ing brain knows better than to drive drunk, spoiled upbringing or not. This is totally unbelievable, an absolute insult to the families to the victims. It also sets a scary precedent; can any teen charged with this sort of crime get a mere slap on the wrist because mommy and daddy didn't instill the concept of responsibility and accountability into their child? Further, how would one go about measuring those values?

    Plain stupid.

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Adelaide For This Useful Post:

    Chloe (12-12-2013),Cthulhu (12-12-2013)

  3. #2
    Points: 56,719, Level: 58
    Level completed: 19%, Points required for next Level: 1,631
    Overall activity: 0.0%
    Achievements:
    Veteran50000 Experience PointsTagger Second Class
    patrickt's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    17597
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Living in Oaxaca, Mexico, born in Memphis and worked in Colorado
    Posts
    11,977
    Points
    56,719
    Level
    58
    Thanks Given
    916
    Thanked 5,009x in 3,481 Posts
    Mentioned
    54 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    "To the defense, the youth is himself a victim -- of "affuenza," according to one psychologist -- the product of wealthy, privileged parents who never set limits for the boy."

    The psychologist was not a witness and this crap should never have been allowed in court. I remember that I drove drunk when I was young and it was only blind luck that prevented a tragedy but if something had happened it would have been my responsibility. I also remember that other "victim" of "influenza", Sen. Ted Kennedy and his victim, Mary Jo Kopechne.

    In my opinion the judge was wrong. The boy should have done time. Not life in prison but serious time.

  4. #3
    Points: 500,453, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    SocialOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Cigar's Avatar Banned
    Karma
    325517
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Wow, what next?
    Posts
    78,900
    Points
    500,453
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    4,088
    Thanked 12,276x in 9,780 Posts
    Mentioned
    1541 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Huge Surprise, I'm Amazed and Shocked ... just a normal, typical day in the Justice System

  5. #4
    Points: 21,388, Level: 35
    Level completed: 54%, Points required for next Level: 562
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    25000 Experience PointsSocialVeteran
    Polecat's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    20707
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Dayton, Ohio
    Posts
    6,086
    Points
    21,388
    Level
    35
    Thanks Given
    152
    Thanked 3,009x in 2,021 Posts
    Mentioned
    71 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Justice is served If I were king his parents would be stripped of absolutely everything including the clothes on their back and this would be distributed equally amongst the deads' families. The driver would be painfully and publicly executed.
    My beliefs are a distillation of what I was taught as a child and what I observe as an adult.

  6. #5
    Points: 11,237, Level: 25
    Level completed: 44%, Points required for next Level: 513
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    SocialVeteran10000 Experience Points
    MrJimmyDale's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    2043
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    1,130
    Points
    11,237
    Level
    25
    Thanks Given
    749
    Thanked 401x in 298 Posts
    Mentioned
    2 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Polecat View Post
    Justice is served If I were king his parents would be stripped of absolutely everything including the clothes on their back and this would be distributed equally amongst the deads' families. The driver would be painfully and publicly executed.
    I agree with everything but the execution part.....serious jail time would do.(easy to say...would feel different if I were the family)
    Quote Originally Posted by Germanicus View Post
    Gotta be the dumbest forum comment I have ever seen. And I read my own posts so..

  7. #6
    Points: 101,482, Level: 77
    Level completed: 59%, Points required for next Level: 1,068
    Overall activity: 0.2%
    Achievements:
    SocialOverdriveCreated Album pictures50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Chloe's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    235091
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    PNW
    Posts
    16,489
    Points
    101,482
    Level
    77
    Thanks Given
    4,941
    Thanked 10,024x in 5,736 Posts
    Mentioned
    1453 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Adelaide View Post
    Texas teen Ethan Couch gets 10 years' probation for deadly DWI - CNN

    This is ridiculous - yes, the parents may very well have had too few rules in place but anyone with half a $#@!ing brain knows better than to drive drunk, spoiled upbringing or not. This is totally unbelievable, an absolute insult to the families to the victims. It also sets a scary precedent; can any teen charged with this sort of crime get a mere slap on the wrist because mommy and daddy didn't instill the concept of responsibility and accountability into their child? Further, how would one go about measuring those values?

    Plain stupid.
    I agree that it's pretty stupid to blame his upbringing on the accident and because of that upbringing give him a slap on the wrist. He killed people due to his negligence and so he should have received jail time or at the very minimum extensive community service and fines along with the probation. I'm ok with the 10 years of probation part since that is a pretty long time to not screw up again, but there should have been something else along with it in my opinion. I don't know how a judge could determine all of that about him based on his parent's income though, seems like a cop out for the judge to not have to send a teenager to jail for a long time and have that on his conscience. Who knows. The teen will have to live with this for the rest of his life though and I couldn't imagine how that must feel knowing what you did to so many families.

    Little known fact about me is that this past summer I got a MIP while I was with some friends at a party near campus, three of us did, and even though it was dismissed and it doesn't appear on my record just that short time of dealing with that legal issue, my parents disappointment, the fear of what the court was going to do and so on has made me afraid to get near alcohol ever since, and it will probably be like that until I turn 21 to be honest. It was a definite learning experience for me and that was a relatively simple alcohol related issue. However, even then, even now, I wouldn't have thought about driving that night, especially with my friends in the car. If you are going to be irresponsible and drink underage then you should at least be responsible enough to not put other peoples lives in danger while doing it.
    Alaska Born ~ Oregon Grown

  8. #7

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 152,038, Level: 93
    Level completed: 48%, Points required for next Level: 2,012
    Overall activity: 1.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialTagger First ClassCreated Album picturesYour first GroupRecommendation First Class50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Adelaide's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    341325
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    N. Pole and VA
    Posts
    30,757
    Points
    152,038
    Level
    93
    Thanks Given
    4,025
    Thanked 18,449x in 11,739 Posts
    Mentioned
    1723 Post(s)
    Tagged
    3 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Chloe View Post
    I agree that it's pretty stupid to blame his upbringing on the accident and because of that upbringing give him a slap on the wrist. He killed people due to his negligence and so he should have received jail time or at the very minimum extensive community service and fines along with the probation. I'm ok with the 10 years of probation part since that is a pretty long time to not screw up again, but there should have been something else along with it in my opinion. I don't know how a judge could determine all of that about him based on his parent's income though, seems like a cop out for the judge to not have to send a teenager to jail for a long time and have that on his conscience. Who knows. The teen will have to live with this for the rest of his life though and I couldn't imagine how that must feel knowing what you did to so many families.

    Little known fact about me is that this past summer I got a MIP while I was with some friends at a party near campus, three of us did, and even though it was dismissed and it doesn't appear on my record just that short time of dealing with that legal issue, my parents disappointment, the fear of what the court was going to do and so on has made me afraid to get near alcohol ever since, and it will probably be like that until I turn 21 to be honest. It was a definite learning experience for me and that was a relatively simple alcohol related issue. However, even then, even now, I wouldn't have thought about driving that night, especially with my friends in the car. If you are going to be irresponsible and drink underage then you should at least be responsible enough to not put other peoples lives in danger while doing it.
    Living with this the rest of his life is punishment in itself, I agree. But I think this is just insulting to the families. 4 people are dead - it's not like he just injured a couple people - they're dead. I agree with you that maybe extensive community service would be more appropriate, but really I think it should have been a bit of jail time, plus community service plus probation. But yeah, 10 years is a long time to try and stay clear of the law. It is a good incentive not to drink and drive again, but the level of damage already done doesn't suit the punishment.

    But I guess what else is new.

  9. #8
    Points: 56,719, Level: 58
    Level completed: 19%, Points required for next Level: 1,631
    Overall activity: 0.0%
    Achievements:
    Veteran50000 Experience PointsTagger Second Class
    patrickt's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    17597
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Living in Oaxaca, Mexico, born in Memphis and worked in Colorado
    Posts
    11,977
    Points
    56,719
    Level
    58
    Thanks Given
    916
    Thanked 5,009x in 3,481 Posts
    Mentioned
    54 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Adelaide: "Living with this the rest of his life is punishment in itself, I agree."

    I knew one drunken driver who killed and was remorseful. She was fifteen, got drunk at a wedding where her parents and other adult relatives kept giving her champagne. Then an aunt laughed and said she was the only one sober enough to drive her home. She wasn't. She hit and killed a pedestrian crossing the street. Another who got probation laughed at sentencing. Sen. Kennedy never indicated he suffered from remorse. We had attorneys who gave classes on how to beat a DUI arrest. They had no remorse, either.

    The first step in being remorseful is accepting responsibility. An acquaintance caused damage at a friends house during a party. Later I asked if she was going to apologize and she looked offended and said, "Why, it wasn't my fault. I was drunk." That seems to be a common feeling from drunken drivers, too.

    The sentence is inappropriate.




    Last edited by patrickt; 12-12-2013 at 05:28 PM.

  10. #9
    Points: 49,511, Level: 54
    Level completed: 37%, Points required for next Level: 1,139
    Overall activity: 0%
    Achievements:
    SocialTagger First ClassRecommendation Second Class50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Cthulhu's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    72948
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    The spaces between cognitive thought and passive nightmares
    Posts
    13,841
    Points
    49,511
    Level
    54
    Thanks Given
    10,369
    Thanked 8,079x in 5,392 Posts
    Mentioned
    577 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Charge him with 4 counts of man slaughter. I don't think killing him is out of the question either. Ignorance is not a defense against the law. So why should recklessness, youth, and stupidity be?
    "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

    Ephesians 6:12

  11. #10
    Points: 80,798, Level: 69
    Level completed: 32%, Points required for next Level: 1,652
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    del's Avatar Banned
    Karma
    1781014
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    30,663
    Points
    80,798
    Level
    69
    Thanks Given
    12,798
    Thanked 18,872x in 12,227 Posts
    Mentioned
    499 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    money talks

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to del For This Useful Post:

    Cthulhu (12-12-2013)

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts