Teen gets probation after killing 4 people - "Affluenza" Blamed

[O maestre]

That story has got my blood boiling it is a fucking disgrace! I can't believe something so horrendous is going unpunished, and I don't even live in the US. How can the justice system stand apathetically while the rich just disregard not only laws but human life!! I am shocked.

Even if this kid wasn't rich and had gotten off, the sentence is lousy and sets a precedent that every emotionally troubled individual with a bad childhood can get a freepass to maim and murder in drunken mirth... as long as they can afford to bribe their way out of justice.

That kid should be rotting a cell!

Kid needs to be put in jail for the rest of his life or maybe even put down. The kid is 16 he knows what he was doing.

"Put down"? What is he, a dog? And as for "he knew what he was doing", yes, he most likely knew that driving after drinking was an irresponsible thing to do, but I doubt he knew that he was going to kill someone; it's not like he wanted this to happen. That certainly doesn't justify his actions, but killing him isn't going to accomplish anything, other than the sating the blood-lust of internet arm-chair judges. Violence without practical application is simply petty.

As others have already said, ten years is a long time to be on probation. If he violates that some time down the line, he could very well end up being tried as an adult, with a much harsher sentence. Putting him in prison for the maximum 20 years for this (I think it's twenty, but even if it's not, the potential maximum for this offence is sure to be high)isn't likely to change him into a productive and functioning member of society. At least this way, there's a chance that he can recognize his mistake and make changes for the better. I'm not saying that that's a sure thing, and I know that feeling like he's just getting away with this is a gut-wrenching feeling to have. However, emotions aside, I'd much rather pick the option that at least has a chance of letting this kid turn himself around and live a positive life.

I understand your anger at this, but no amount of punishment or retribution is going to bring those people back.

How do you know he as a gut-wrenching feeling of guilt? How do you know that? You know what this kid learned? he learned that if you are rich enough nothing can stop you. he can fuck up as many times as he wants and daddy's money will save him. Hell isn't that the lesson our world governments have taught us? That the rich are "too big to fail". Digression aside this kid knew what he was doing getting into vehicle drunk he should face the consequences of his choice. I don't think he should be killed, just incarcerated either in jail or juvenile correction. He killed 4 people and got away with it, ridiculous.

 

[O maestre]

No matter what you've done, you never deserve to be locked up for life before you're an adult. Ever.

The reasons are not important, a 16 year old is not a candidate for a life sentence.

Then again, I bet most rednecks will disagree.

You do know that 16 year olds are capable of first degree murder? he wasn't considered for life sentence, the maximum sentence would have been 10-20 years instead he gets off with nothing.. oh wait incredibly expensive counselling charges.

What counts as an adult for you? 16 year olds are not as dumb and incapable of choices as you might think.

Besides what pisses me off is not that he is getting off the hook because of his age, but rather its because of a bullshit excuse backed by his parents money. He ploughed down 4 people, 4 individuals, a mother and a daughter, a youth minsiter and another woman all had lives, all of them had families that are now ruined because of that 16 year olds choices.

If he is old enough to drive he should be old enough to face the consequences of his choices and actions.
I'm not a redneck conservative or a liberal, I'm not even from the US. I am just shocked at how money and justice works in the US. From big banks to manslaughter.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I... what?! Damned rich people, as if I didn't have enough reasons to dislike "entitled privileged people". He killed people and got away with it, how is that fair?!

If I may use this old meme:

 

[EternallyBored]

No matter what you've done, you never deserve to be locked up for life before you're an adult. Ever.

The reasons are not important, a 16 year old is not a candidate for a life sentence.

Then again, I bet most rednecks will disagree.

You do know that 16 year olds are capable of first degree murder? he wasn't considered for life sentence, the maximum sentence would have been 10-20 years instead he gets off with nothing.. oh wait incredibly expensive counselling charges.

What counts as an adult for you? 16 year olds are not as dumb and incapable of choices as you might think.

Besides what pisses me off is not that he is getting off the hook because of his age, but rather its because of a bullshit excuse backed by his parents money. He ploughed down 4 people, 4 individuals, a mother and a daughter, a youth minsiter and another woman all had lives, all of them had families that are now ruined because of that 16 year olds choices.

If he is old enough to drive he should be old enough to face the consequences of his choices and actions.
I'm not a redneck conservative or a liberal, I'm not even from the US. I am just shocked at how money and justice works in the US. From big banks to manslaughter.

Again, one more time, because people are apparently not reading the thread or the article, 10-20 years is the ADULT sentence, even if he had received the maximum, he would have been released at either 18 (2 years), or 21 (5 years).

Also, the judge did not buy that stupid "affluenza" excuse, so let's please stop pretending that just because the lawyer made it, that's the reason he got off. I don't know anything about the juvenile justice system in Texas, but I know in my state that a poor kid can get a pretty similar sentence for vehicular manslaughter, even if all they have is a public defender. The judge didn't buy the excuse, so he got a plea deal that cut out jail time in favor of an unusually long probation period for a teenager, as I said before, the prosecution and judge likely agreed to it so that he could be punted to the adult system if he screwed up, the parents promise of remanding the kid to inpatient treatment for a number of years probably also helped. Now, because the parents are rich, he'll likely be sent to a pretty cushy rehab clinic, even if he is technically a prisoner there, it is a guilded cage, and yeah it sucks that money basically allowed the parent's to get him into mandatory rehab at a snazzy location.

The juvenile justice system is all kinds of weird for stuff like this, it's set up to mostly handle kids that commit minor crimes, and tends to focus on making sure punishment doesn't carry into adulthood. We can have a good argument for why that's right or wrong, and whether the system should be set up to handle extreme cases like this more smoothly, but even a poor kid was never going to see the full 10-20 year sentence.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

That story has got my blood boiling it is a fucking disgrace! I can't believe something so horrendous is going unpunished, and I don't even live in the US. How can the justice system stand apathetically while the rich just disregard not only laws but human life!! I am shocked.

Even if this kid wasn't rich and had gotten off, the sentence is lousy and sets a precedent that every emotionally troubled individual with a bad childhood can get a freepass to maim and murder in drunken mirth... as long as they can afford to bribe their way out of justice.

That kid should be rotting a cell!

Kid needs to be put in jail for the rest of his life or maybe even put down. The kid is 16 he knows what he was doing.

"Put down"? What is he, a dog? And as for "he knew what he was doing", yes, he most likely knew that driving after drinking was an irresponsible thing to do, but I doubt he knew that he was going to kill someone; it's not like he wanted this to happen. That certainly doesn't justify his actions, but killing him isn't going to accomplish anything, other than the sating the blood-lust of internet arm-chair judges. Violence without practical application is simply petty.

As others have already said, ten years is a long time to be on probation. If he violates that some time down the line, he could very well end up being tried as an adult, with a much harsher sentence. Putting him in prison for the maximum 20 years for this (I think it's twenty, but even if it's not, the potential maximum for this offence is sure to be high)isn't likely to change him into a productive and functioning member of society. At least this way, there's a chance that he can recognize his mistake and make changes for the better. I'm not saying that that's a sure thing, and I know that feeling like he's just getting away with this is a gut-wrenching feeling to have. However, emotions aside, I'd much rather pick the option that at least has a chance of letting this kid turn himself around and live a positive life.

I understand your anger at this, but no amount of punishment or retribution is going to bring those people back.

How do you know he as a gut-wrenching feeling of guilt? How do you know that? You know what this kid learned? he learned that if you are rich enough nothing can stop you. he can fuck up as many times as he wants and daddy's money will save him. Hell isn't that the lesson our world governments have taught us? That the rich are "too big to fail". Digression aside this kid knew what he was doing getting into vehicle drunk he should face the consequences of his choice. I don't think he should be killed, just incarcerated either in jail or juvenile correction. He killed 4 people and got away with it, ridiculous.

I never claimed to know that he felt guilt; all I said was that there was a chance. The fact that you mimicked my use of the word "gut-wrenching" leads me to believe that you may have misread my post: I didn't say that the kid had a gut-wrenching feeling, I said that I understand why the thought of him getting away with it is gut-wrenching. Even so, it's totally possible that you're right, and he doesn't feel any remorse whatsoever. However, just as I can't know that he feels remorse, I can't know that he doesn't either. I honestly doubt that anyone who isn't a sociopath could come out of this without being shaken in some way. Even if it's not a soul-crushing regret, I'm hoping that this can at least be a wake-up call of sorts.

As for him "getting away with it", I would certainly be outraged if I thought that was the case, but I don't. It's easy to underestimate just how long ten years on probation is. So, if he does get caught with alcohol or doing anything else that violates his probation some time down the line, he could very well be an adult by then, and his sentencing would be even harsher than if they had just initially incarcerated him. Yes, they've set him free for now, but they've set him in something of a minefield, so to speak. If he really doesn't feel any guilt, I'm sure he'll do something stupid to violate his probation before long, and then they'll have him (although, I do understand the concern that this stupid thing could get someone else hurt, and that possibility is something of a doubt I have with the stance I'm taking). At that point, I have no problem with putting him behind bars.

I don't want it to sound like I sympathize with this kid, because I don't; I just want as much to be salvaged from this situation as possible. I just hate the thought of someone so young being put in prison with so many other criminals, just to have that prison spit him out as a person who's worse than the one they took in. My sympathy lies solely with the victims, but there's really nothing that can be done for them, unfortunately.

 

[Wickatricka]

So let me make sure I understand this. Your father killed 2 people drinking and driving and then you went on to drink and drive. That guilt seems to have done a lot of good.
.

I didn't know about it until after my accident.

 

[O maestre]

Spoiler: hidden snip

No matter what you've done, you never deserve to be locked up for life before you're an adult. Ever.

The reasons are not important, a 16 year old is not a candidate for a life sentence.

Then again, I bet most rednecks will disagree.

You do know that 16 year olds are capable of first degree murder? he wasn't considered for life sentence, the maximum sentence would have been 10-20 years instead he gets off with nothing.. oh wait incredibly expensive counselling charges.

What counts as an adult for you? 16 year olds are not as dumb and incapable of choices as you might think.

Besides what pisses me off is not that he is getting off the hook because of his age, but rather its because of a bullshit excuse backed by his parents money. He ploughed down 4 people, 4 individuals, a mother and a daughter, a youth minsiter and another woman all had lives, all of them had families that are now ruined because of that 16 year olds choices.

If he is old enough to drive he should be old enough to face the consequences of his choices and actions.
I'm not a redneck conservative or a liberal, I'm not even from the US. I am just shocked at how money and justice works in the US. From big banks to manslaughter.

Again, one more time, because people are apparently not reading the thread or the article, 10-20 years is the ADULT sentence, even if he had received the maximum, he would have been released at either 18 (2 years), or 21 (5 years).

Also, the judge did not buy that stupid "affluenza" excuse, so let's please stop pretending that just because the lawyer made it, that's the reason he got off. I don't know anything about the juvenile justice system in Texas, but I know in my state that a poor kid can get a pretty similar sentence for vehicular manslaughter, even if all they have is a public defender. The judge didn't buy the excuse, so he got a plea deal that cut out jail time in favor of an unusually long probation period for a teenager, as I said before, the prosecution and judge likely agreed to it so that he could be punted to the adult system if he screwed up, the parents promise of remanding the kid to inpatient treatment for a number of years probably also helped. Now, because the parents are rich, he'll likely be sent to a pretty cushy rehab clinic, even if he is technically a prisoner there, it is a guilded cage, and yeah it sucks that money basically allowed the parent's to get him into mandatory rehab at a snazzy location.

The juvenile justice system is all kinds of weird for stuff like this, it's set up to mostly handle kids that commit minor crimes, and tends to focus on making sure punishment doesn't carry into adulthood. We can have a good argument for why that's right or wrong, and whether the system should be set up to handle extreme cases like this more smoothly, but even a poor kid was never going to see the full 10-20 year sentence.

16 is old enough for adult court in some states, don't know if that's the case in Texas, despite ploughing down 4 people while drunk is an adult crime in my opinion. I just don't think that probation is going to be hanging over his head. I still think he is getting a lenient deal, there should be an argument of serious crimes that are worthy of the attention in adult court.

I can't imagine how that father must feel, his wife and child snuffed out recklessly like that.

That story has got my blood boiling it is a fucking disgrace! I can't believe something so horrendous is going unpunished, and I don't even live in the US. How can the justice system stand apathetically while the rich just disregard not only laws but human life!! I am shocked.

Even if this kid wasn't rich and had gotten off, the sentence is lousy and sets a precedent that every emotionally troubled individual with a bad childhood can get a freepass to maim and murder in drunken mirth... as long as they can afford to bribe their way out of justice.

That kid should be rotting a cell!

Kid needs to be put in jail for the rest of his life or maybe even put down. The kid is 16 he knows what he was doing.

"Put down"? What is he, a dog? And as for "he knew what he was doing", yes, he most likely knew that driving after drinking was an irresponsible thing to do, but I doubt he knew that he was going to kill someone; it's not like he wanted this to happen. That certainly doesn't justify his actions, but killing him isn't going to accomplish anything, other than the sating the blood-lust of internet arm-chair judges. Violence without practical application is simply petty.

As others have already said, ten years is a long time to be on probation. If he violates that some time down the line, he could very well end up being tried as an adult, with a much harsher sentence. Putting him in prison for the maximum 20 years for this (I think it's twenty, but even if it's not, the potential maximum for this offence is sure to be high)isn't likely to change him into a productive and functioning member of society. At least this way, there's a chance that he can recognize his mistake and make changes for the better. I'm not saying that that's a sure thing, and I know that feeling like he's just getting away with this is a gut-wrenching feeling to have. However, emotions aside, I'd much rather pick the option that at least has a chance of letting this kid turn himself around and live a positive life.

I understand your anger at this, but no amount of punishment or retribution is going to bring those people back.

How do you know he as a gut-wrenching feeling of guilt? How do you know that? You know what this kid learned? he learned that if you are rich enough nothing can stop you. he can fuck up as many times as he wants and daddy's money will save him. Hell isn't that the lesson our world governments have taught us? That the rich are "too big to fail". Digression aside this kid knew what he was doing getting into vehicle drunk he should face the consequences of his choice. I don't think he should be killed, just incarcerated either in jail or juvenile correction. He killed 4 people and got away with it, ridiculous.

I never claimed to know that he felt guilt; all I said was that there was a chance. The fact that you mimicked my use of the word "gut-wrenching" leads me to believe that you may have misread my post: I didn't say that the kid had a gut-wrenching feeling, I said that I understand why the thought of him getting away with it is gut-wrenching. Even so, it's totally possible that you're right, and he doesn't feel any remorse whatsoever. However, just as I can't know that he feels remorse, I can't know that he doesn't either. I honestly doubt that anyone who isn't a sociopath could come out of this without being shaken in some way. Even if it's not a soul-crushing regret, I'm hoping that this can at least be a wake-up call of sorts.

As for him "getting away with it", I would certainly be outraged if I thought that was the case, but I don't. It's easy to underestimate just how long ten years on probation is. So, if he does get caught with alcohol or doing anything else that violates his probation some time down the line, he could very well be an adult by then, and his sentencing would be even harsher than if they had just initially incarcerated him. Yes, they've set him free for now, but they've set him in something of a minefield, so to speak. If he really doesn't feel any guilt, I'm sure he'll do something stupid to violate his probation before long, and then they'll have him (although, I do understand the concern that this stupid thing could get someone else hurt, and that possibility is something of a doubt I have with the stance I'm taking). At that point, I have no problem with putting him behind bars.

I don't want it to sound like I sympathize with this kid, because I don't; I just want as much to be salvaged from this situation as possible. I just hate the thought of someone so young being put in prison with so many other criminals, just to have that prison spit him out as a person who's worse than the one they took in. My sympathy lies solely with the victims, but there's really nothing that can be done for them, unfortunately.

You are right I misread, sorry for that, perhaps the immediate anger that came from the news didn't allow me to be rational or read without prejudice. It is all too easy to spot the power wealth has over the country, it was/is therefore not beyond my imagination or fears that the affluent might simply dodge consequences.

I however still think the kid got off too easy, either a juvenile corrections facility or 1 years sentence commutable to community or charity work along with probation(parole) it would have given him a punishment, and the threat of more serious action should he violate his conditions and like you said hurt or kill again. Parole would also place him under state supervision as far as I understand.


Operating a vehicle while drunk is a very serious crime, when it goes bad, it often ends in absolute tragedy. When you get your licence it's a fact that gets fact drilled through your head. He chose to disregard that, DUI is a serious offence that shouldn't be treated with kid gloves.

The possibility of a "harsh" sentence down the line is a vague threat, a light sentence now might be enough to scare him straight.

 

[EternallyBored]

Spoiler: hidden snip

No matter what you've done, you never deserve to be locked up for life before you're an adult. Ever.

The reasons are not important, a 16 year old is not a candidate for a life sentence.

Then again, I bet most rednecks will disagree.

You do know that 16 year olds are capable of first degree murder? he wasn't considered for life sentence, the maximum sentence would have been 10-20 years instead he gets off with nothing.. oh wait incredibly expensive counselling charges.

What counts as an adult for you? 16 year olds are not as dumb and incapable of choices as you might think.

Besides what pisses me off is not that he is getting off the hook because of his age, but rather its because of a bullshit excuse backed by his parents money. He ploughed down 4 people, 4 individuals, a mother and a daughter, a youth minsiter and another woman all had lives, all of them had families that are now ruined because of that 16 year olds choices.

If he is old enough to drive he should be old enough to face the consequences of his choices and actions.
I'm not a redneck conservative or a liberal, I'm not even from the US. I am just shocked at how money and justice works in the US. From big banks to manslaughter.

Again, one more time, because people are apparently not reading the thread or the article, 10-20 years is the ADULT sentence, even if he had received the maximum, he would have been released at either 18 (2 years), or 21 (5 years).

Also, the judge did not buy that stupid "affluenza" excuse, so let's please stop pretending that just because the lawyer made it, that's the reason he got off. I don't know anything about the juvenile justice system in Texas, but I know in my state that a poor kid can get a pretty similar sentence for vehicular manslaughter, even if all they have is a public defender. The judge didn't buy the excuse, so he got a plea deal that cut out jail time in favor of an unusually long probation period for a teenager, as I said before, the prosecution and judge likely agreed to it so that he could be punted to the adult system if he screwed up, the parents promise of remanding the kid to inpatient treatment for a number of years probably also helped. Now, because the parents are rich, he'll likely be sent to a pretty cushy rehab clinic, even if he is technically a prisoner there, it is a guilded cage, and yeah it sucks that money basically allowed the parent's to get him into mandatory rehab at a snazzy location.

The juvenile justice system is all kinds of weird for stuff like this, it's set up to mostly handle kids that commit minor crimes, and tends to focus on making sure punishment doesn't carry into adulthood. We can have a good argument for why that's right or wrong, and whether the system should be set up to handle extreme cases like this more smoothly, but even a poor kid was never going to see the full 10-20 year sentence.

16 is old enough for adult court in some states, don't know if that's the case in Texas, despite ploughing down 4 people while drunk is an adult crime in my opinion. I just don't think that probation is going to be hanging over his head. I still think he is getting a lenient deal, there should be an argument of serious crimes that are worthy of the attention in adult court.

I can't imagine how that father must feel, his wife and child snuffed out recklessly like that.

That story has got my blood boiling it is a fucking disgrace! I can't believe something so horrendous is going unpunished, and I don't even live in the US. How can the justice system stand apathetically while the rich just disregard not only laws but human life!! I am shocked.

Even if this kid wasn't rich and had gotten off, the sentence is lousy and sets a precedent that every emotionally troubled individual with a bad childhood can get a freepass to maim and murder in drunken mirth... as long as they can afford to bribe their way out of justice.

That kid should be rotting a cell!

Kid needs to be put in jail for the rest of his life or maybe even put down. The kid is 16 he knows what he was doing.

"Put down"? What is he, a dog? And as for "he knew what he was doing", yes, he most likely knew that driving after drinking was an irresponsible thing to do, but I doubt he knew that he was going to kill someone; it's not like he wanted this to happen. That certainly doesn't justify his actions, but killing him isn't going to accomplish anything, other than the sating the blood-lust of internet arm-chair judges. Violence without practical application is simply petty.

As others have already said, ten years is a long time to be on probation. If he violates that some time down the line, he could very well end up being tried as an adult, with a much harsher sentence. Putting him in prison for the maximum 20 years for this (I think it's twenty, but even if it's not, the potential maximum for this offence is sure to be high)isn't likely to change him into a productive and functioning member of society. At least this way, there's a chance that he can recognize his mistake and make changes for the better. I'm not saying that that's a sure thing, and I know that feeling like he's just getting away with this is a gut-wrenching feeling to have. However, emotions aside, I'd much rather pick the option that at least has a chance of letting this kid turn himself around and live a positive life.

I understand your anger at this, but no amount of punishment or retribution is going to bring those people back.

How do you know he as a gut-wrenching feeling of guilt? How do you know that? You know what this kid learned? he learned that if you are rich enough nothing can stop you. he can fuck up as many times as he wants and daddy's money will save him. Hell isn't that the lesson our world governments have taught us? That the rich are "too big to fail". Digression aside this kid knew what he was doing getting into vehicle drunk he should face the consequences of his choice. I don't think he should be killed, just incarcerated either in jail or juvenile correction. He killed 4 people and got away with it, ridiculous.

I never claimed to know that he felt guilt; all I said was that there was a chance. The fact that you mimicked my use of the word "gut-wrenching" leads me to believe that you may have misread my post: I didn't say that the kid had a gut-wrenching feeling, I said that I understand why the thought of him getting away with it is gut-wrenching. Even so, it's totally possible that you're right, and he doesn't feel any remorse whatsoever. However, just as I can't know that he feels remorse, I can't know that he doesn't either. I honestly doubt that anyone who isn't a sociopath could come out of this without being shaken in some way. Even if it's not a soul-crushing regret, I'm hoping that this can at least be a wake-up call of sorts.

As for him "getting away with it", I would certainly be outraged if I thought that was the case, but I don't. It's easy to underestimate just how long ten years on probation is. So, if he does get caught with alcohol or doing anything else that violates his probation some time down the line, he could very well be an adult by then, and his sentencing would be even harsher than if they had just initially incarcerated him. Yes, they've set him free for now, but they've set him in something of a minefield, so to speak. If he really doesn't feel any guilt, I'm sure he'll do something stupid to violate his probation before long, and then they'll have him (although, I do understand the concern that this stupid thing could get someone else hurt, and that possibility is something of a doubt I have with the stance I'm taking). At that point, I have no problem with putting him behind bars.

I don't want it to sound like I sympathize with this kid, because I don't; I just want as much to be salvaged from this situation as possible. I just hate the thought of someone so young being put in prison with so many other criminals, just to have that prison spit him out as a person who's worse than the one they took in. My sympathy lies solely with the victims, but there's really nothing that can be done for them, unfortunately.

You are right I misread, sorry for that, perhaps the immediate anger that came from the news didn't allow me to be rational or read without prejudice. It is all too easy to spot the power wealth has over the country, it was/is therefore not beyond my imagination or fears that the affluent might simply dodge consequences.

I however still think the kid got off too easy, either a juvenile corrections facility or 1 years sentence commutable to community or charity work along with probation(parole) it would have given him a punishment, and the threat of more serious action should he violate his conditions and like you said hurt or kill again. Parole would also place him under state supervision as far as I understand.


Operating a vehicle while drunk is a very serious crime, when it goes bad, it often ends in absolute tragedy. When you get your licence it's a fact that gets fact drilled through your head. He chose to disregard that, DUI is a serious offence that shouldn't be treated with kid gloves.

The possibility of a "harsh" sentence down the line is a vague threat, a light sentence now might be enough to scare him straight.

No no, I actually mostly agree with you on this one, I was mostly correcting people who think that just because he was rich was the only reason he wasn't serving the adult sentence of 10-20 years, the juvenile system is all sorts of wonky when it comes to this kind of thing, and poor or rich, it's largely going to be the judgement call of the judge whether he was sentenced in the juvenile system or kicked to the adult system, I've seen it happen both ways regardless of money, his money certainly bought him an advantage, but it's not quite the sensationalized advantage being spouted by the media.

Personally, yeah, I think the kid needs to see something more severe than probation and a mandatory rehab stay, but that's just my opinion from the heavily sensationalized information being released by the media, I know I don't have all the facts, I am hoping the judge however did, at the very least the judge was smart enough to seem to not be buying into the psychologists "affluenza" bullshit.

The latest bit of insanity to come out of this case is a story about the same judge sentencing a poor African American kid to 10 years in juvenile detention for a single murder (in this case it was intentional violence rather than accidental manslaughter though). Sounds pretty bad, of course the media has distorted the facts here too, the judge apparently tried to get this kid into some sort of rehab for his violent behavior, no facility would accept him though so he got dumped in detention. The kids much younger age also made his sentence longer since there was no worry of being kicked to the adult system, he wouldn't be 21 by the time he got out. It sounds almost backwards, that the younger kid gets punished more harshly because the system doesn't have to worry about dealing with adult prisons, but yeah that kind of crap can happen.

The juvenile justice system has some serious problems, and unfortunately in this case, the media is sensationalizing the money angle more than the actual issues that result in decisions like this. Don't think I have a ton of sympathy for the kid though, he started off with shoplifting and ended up with drunkenly killing 4 people and permanently crippling others, there are no winners in this case, and probably won't even be any bittersweet endings either.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

A normal asshole teen decides to drive drunk, killing 4 people: off to jail, bye-bye.

A rich teen asshole decides to drive drunk, killing 4 people: blame put on "affluenza" (=rich-kid-asshole-itis), guy gets off with probation and goes to therapy in California for $450k.

I know his problems with the parents might have affected this, but fuck me man. There is no excuse, absolutely no excuse, for driving drunk. And with 7 people in his car? Not one of them tried to stop him or even tell him it was a bad idea?

Also, this shit pisses me off the most:

According to Forth Worth Star-Telegram, Miller also testified that the boy ?never learned that sometimes you don?t get your way. . . He had the cars and he had the money. He had freedoms that no young man would be able to handle,? and was also taught that ?if you hurt someone, you send them money.?

Well isn't that EXACTLY reason enough to send him to jail? Not necessarily for 20 years but long enough for him to realize that his actions have consequences and that he isn't above the law. That he doesn't get his way!

 

[Auberon]

As I can't be bothered to read through these text walls... will that at least automatically go to his register, even without breaking probation?

 

[stormeris]

Rich people getting off easy from crimes, that would make anyone else go to jail for at least 20-30 years.

Sounds about right...

 

[the December King]

I wonder... what if the punishment had been about removing his parent's wealth, and giving it to the families of the victims? That seems like it would allow the kid to keep his precious freedoms, and punish the hell out of him at the same time.

Too simple, I suppose. Other people like lawyers and attorneys can't make money off of the misfortune this way, I reckon.

 

[EternallyBored]

As I can't be bothered to read through these text walls... will that at least automatically go to his register, even without breaking probation?

The law varies by state, some states will not seal or expunge records under certain circumstances, some states include felony charges or even drunk driving under these exceptions. In those cases the family would need to appeal to the judge to have the record sealed and expunged, either way they would have to wait until the probation sentence is over, and if the sentence gets kicked to an adult probation officer (which it likely will as a child probation officer won't usually handle anyone over 21), then there will still be some remnant of that record, even if the juvenile portion is sealed, the stint with the adult probation system will likely still be public.

His family's money will likely give him an advantage if they have to appeal it to the judge, but even if they succeed there, the most he could probably achieve is getting the records sealed, without expunging them then they still exist and can be used by the adult system to count against him if he ever re offends. If he ever gets caught on a DUI again, even after probation, it is very likely his juvenile record will come into play in his sentencing, due to the extreme nature of his previous offense. He might get stipulation that would save him from listing his crimes on employment applications. but the court is unlikely to allow his records to completely vanish, and the military definitely will have access to those records if he ever tries to enlist.

 

[EternallyBored]

I wonder... what if the punishment had been about removing his parent's wealth, and giving it to the families of the victims? That seems like it would allow the kid to keep his precious freedoms, and punish the hell out of him at the same time.

Too simple, I suppose. Other people like lawyers and attorneys can't make money off of the misfortune this way, I reckon.

Doubtful, there are protections in place to prevent civil suits against minors, he likely has little money himself, and his parents are only guilty of using their money to protect their child (and perhaps being kind of shitty parents). There's no ethical way to justify bankrupting the parents for something their child did, no court in the country would be OK with that.

Parents can be compelled by the court to do certain things under the threat of having their children taken away or being held in contempt of court, but they can't be directly punished for the actions of their child unless it can be proven they were directly responsible for their child's actions, such as if he had been stealing beer at his parent's request.

 

[the December King]

I wonder... what if the punishment had been about removing his parent's wealth, and giving it to the families of the victims? That seems like it would allow the kid to keep his precious freedoms, and punish the hell out of him at the same time.

Too simple, I suppose. Other people like lawyers and attorneys can't make money off of the misfortune this way, I reckon.

Doubtful, there are protections in place to prevent civil suits against minors, he likely has little money himself, and his parents are only guilty of using their money to protect their child (and perhaps being kind of shitty parents). There's no ethical way to justify bankrupting the parents for something their child did, no court in the country would be OK with that.

Parents can be compelled by the court to do certain things under the threat of having their children taken away or being held in contempt of court, but they can't be directly punished for the actions of their child unless it can be proven they were directly responsible for their child's actions, such as if he had been stealing beer at his parent's request.

I understand no court would uphold that. It's clearly not how the system is set up... but it would be an apt punishment. Four people are dead who shouldn't be, after all.

 

[Ishal]

Do you think being raised rich/spoiled constitutes some form of mental disability, to the point where it should be taken into consideration when sentencing is applied for a crime? We take other forms of problematic upbringing into consideration when sentencing (at least, hypothetically we do). Is neglect through over indulgence different than good old fashioned vanilla neglect?

I... really don't think so.

I'm a white heterosexual male 24 years of age who was raised in upper middle class suburbs. I've been afforded many opportunities in my life because of my upbringing and my other traits. One of those being self defense training, as someone who is either average height or below average height (5'6") it's made me feel comfortable in dangerous situations. If I ever got into a fight and had to you those skills, to lets say, disastrous consequences for the other party... I'd expect that to come up on my examination. In other words, I feel like I need to be MORE responsible given my upbringing and my skills.

To answer your question, no, I don't think that. I don't think that at all. Being rich = being able to access more things and more ways of dealing with problems. Most importantly, it should grant more access to learning. More knowledge = more responsibility imo. And with that... any negligence should be treated with more harsh consequences if anything.

But this is Texas we're talking about here. Worse than Florida... I expect nothing less.

 

[Fox12]

Apparently this isn't completely unusual for intoxicated vehicular manslaughter. Adults are expected to serve between 2 and 20 years in prison in Texas, which is a median amount of prison time for this offense in the United States.

http://www.madd.org/laws/law-overview/Vehicular_Homicide_Overview.pdf

Since the driver was underage the law was clearly more lenient towards him, and it seems like the defense was focusing more on his poor upbringing than on his personal wealth. While it sounds like he got off somewhat easy I can't make much of an argument since I don't know much about the juvenile court system. He should atleast be given some kind of community service. Maybe he can travel to different schools over the course of several years and tell his story as penance.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Let's take a looks-see. According to google-
Affluenza: a psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy young people, symptoms of which include a lack of motivation, feelings of guilt, and a sense of isolation.
Calling Affluenza a form of depression from what I can tell, I'd say this kid's depression caused his drinking and his drinking lead to drunk driving. Let's review the crimes this twit seems to have racked up based on the story given:
1. I would assume his truck, which held a total of eight people at the time of the wreck, was carrying more than the legal number of passengers of that size vehicle.
2. A minor voluntarily drinking alcohol.
3. I am curious whether or not there was alcohol in the vehicle at the time of the wreck. If so, then that's another tally.
3. Driving, as a minor, with any alcohol in his system.
4. Driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit
5. Vehicular manslaughter. Four counts of vehicular manslaughter/homicide (I am uncertain of the correct wording in this case)

I would like to note that he risked the lives of seven of his friends by driving while intoxicated. Another thing, the article mentions Gary Miller. Who is that? The only Gary Miller I found online is a congressman in California so I wonder why someone like that would have anything to say about this case. The article never directly states that Miller is a member of the boy's defense, although I suppose it is implied.

Finally, had anyone here heard of this case prior to now? The incident originally happened back in June.

 

[spartan231490]

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/12/12/wealthy_teen_gets_probation_in_drunkdriving_crash_that_killed_4_affluenza_blamed.html

FORT WORTH, TEXAS?The probation-only sentence for a North Texas teen who was drunk when he lost control of his pickup truck and killed four pedestrians has left the families of the dead outraged and prosecutors disappointed.

A juvenile court judge sentenced the 16-year-old boy in Fort Worth on Tuesday to 10 years of probation after he confessed to intoxication manslaughter in the June 15 crash on a dark rural road near Fort Worth. Killed were Brian Jennings, 43-year-old Burleson youth minister; Breanna Mitchell of Lillian, 24; Shelby Boyles, 21, and her 52-year-old mother, Hollie Boyles, who lived near the crash site.

A psychologist called as an expert defence witness said the boy suffered from "affluenza," growing up in a house where parents were preoccupied with arguments with each other that led to a divorce.

Right, so, clearly this is very silly and kind of appalling, but I know there's a lot of teens around these parts, and young twenties, and I wonder how you feel about this defense. Do you think being raised rich/spoiled constitutes some form of mental disability, to the point where it should be taken into consideration when sentencing is applied for a crime? We take other forms of problematic upbringing into consideration when sentencing (at least, hypothetically we do). Is neglect through over indulgence different than good old fashioned vanilla neglect?

In an ideal world everything would be taken into account when sentencing. What people don't seem to realize is that there's little point in ruining this kid's life if the incident alone was enough to prevent him from doing it again. That just causes him to be a pointless expenditure for the state, and people who go to prison in the US are highly likely to commit worse crimes in the future, so any sentence that lets him stay out of prison and still learn his lesson sounds good to me.

 

[ThreeName]

It's not in the fucking DSM, that "psychologist" should have his license revoked.

Gah.