"Rich" kid kills 4, gets probation.

[HYHYBT]

I'd love to hear the prosecution's case for that one....

[Andara Bledin]

I have no idea what a usual sentence for such an act is in the US, or in that state in particular. Going by our legal system, a 2-3 year sentence would be common for this if you're an adult, which i feel is reasonable.

Anecdotal, but I know a man who got 4 years for a DWI incident that resulted in a death. Despite the fact that the police couldn't actually prove that he was the driver, seeing as he was in the passenger seat, with matching impact to the windshield. But he was poor and highly unsympathetic as a defendant, so it was an easy conviction on their part.

[Kelmon]

DWI is one of those crimes that needs as much of a deterrent as possible IMO, since for many people it's very "easy" to commit the act.

That implies that people are able to think clearly about the consequences of this act, which they aren't. Longer and longer jail sentences won't change that. No one gets in their car while being drunk, thinking "Oh well, if i kill someone it's only 7, not 20 years".

[ebonyknight]

It's one of those crimes that I think some of the most "innocent" people (albeit very careless and with very poor judgement) could commit, yet could have the most grim consequences. Frankly, I'd say the risk of killing one's self and/or others should be enough of a deterrent but we see time and time again that's not the case for everyone.

Every time I saw one of these stories, I always asked how do the perpetrators manage to seemingly always come out unscathed, while the victims get killed. Someone gave me an answer. Due to them being drunk they were oblivious to the danger, and were thus "relaxed" during the crash. This apparently highly reduces the chance of injury.

Unfortunately, not that it matters, the other 4 were out on the road changing a tire when they were run over. The 911 call had another bystander answering the operator as to how many people were hurt. He started counting and stopped at three and ended up just saying multiple people were killed, as their bodies were strewn all over the road. In his own car there were seven other teens, hurt two critically when he impacted doing almost TWICE the speed limit.

Granted, a lot of the time the person has to live with what they did (most are not hard criminals after all), but this kid just doesn't seem to really care. I can't see how this is a "just" sentence, but the judge hasn't given his side of the story yet.

[TheHuckster]

I have no idea what a usual sentence for such an act is in the US, or in that state in particular. Going by our legal system, a 2-3 year sentence would be common for this if you're an adult, which i feel is reasonable.

Drunk driving related crimes are generally treated more harshly than other similar negligent homicide cases. At least in the state I'm in, being in a DWI crash that results in death will very likely revoke your license indefinitely, and you could be imprisoned for at least 7 years, if not longer.

DWI is one of those crimes that needs as much of a deterrent as possible IMO, since for many people it's very "easy" to commit the act. Go out drinking with friends, have a little too much, and realize you never designated a DD (or he/she didn't keep the promise) and now you have to get home... commence the rationalizations like "I'm not that drunk" or "Its 2am, there's not that many people out on the road" or "If I call a cab, my car is going to be left in the parking lot and might get towed for overnight parking or charge me up the wazoo in parking fees."

It's one of those crimes that I think some of the most "innocent" people (albeit very careless and with very poor judgement) could commit, yet could have the most grim consequences. Frankly, I'd say the risk of killing one's self and/or others should be enough of a deterrent but we see time and time again that's not the case for everyone.

[Kelmon]

I have no idea what a usual sentence for such an act is in the US, or in that state in particular. Going by our legal system, a 2-3 year sentence would be common for this if you're an adult, which i feel is reasonable.

But I don't really see anything wrong with this kind of sentence for a 16-year-old. Letting him rot in prison is not bringing anybody back to life, and will likely ruin any chance of redeeming him.

[TheHuckster]

New York Daily News is known for its tabloid-y presentation. They don't just editorialize the news, they do it and are proud of it. If you want a less sensationalized article, try CNN or something similar.

I think if the parents did make him a spoiled brat, then they should share the blame, but that doesn't excuse his actions one bit. If anything, it should be more important to throw the book at him because it's clear his parents won't.

[ebonyknight]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1544508

"Wealthy brat Ethan Couch killed four people, including a mother and daughter, while blacked-out drunk and driving 70 mph on a rural road in June. Defense attorneys said the boy suffered from 'affluenza' and blamed the boy's parents, saying they gave him everything he wanted and didn't teach him about consequences.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wealthy-16-year-old-killed-4-drunken-crash-spared-jail-article-1.1544508#ixzz2nGZnhUpS"

Wow, I thought news outlets were supposed to just report news. Not comment on it. I agree with the sentiment, but....

Anyway. It just amazes me how this country makes such strides in social and legal equality and then seemingly gets staggered with these incidents. Granted this is a new story, but I just don't understand how these things happen. How, can anyone kill 4 people and just get probation? I really just despise the "If/would/were" argument, but seriously. If this kid weren't rich, would he really have gotten the same sentence? I mean 10 years on probation isn't a gift, but is this the appropriate sentence for killing 4 people while driving drunk? He had a BAL of .24/ stole the beer he used to get drunk and had been taking Valium to boot. I just don't get it.

Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see, but while watching this story on the news this morning, they were showing the kid going through security and he just had this look on his face, like "why do I have to go through all this bother....."