There is a long history of the rich and privileged getting off easy after committing a crime and now it has a name: "affluenza."
And a poster boy: Ethan Couch.
In June of 2013, 16-year-old Couch was driving with a blood-alcohol level three times above the legal limit on a two-lane highway near Fort Worth, Texas at night. He struck and killed four pedestrians and injured several others, including passengers in his pick-up truck.
The prosecution demanded a minimum of 20 years in jail.
Couch received a short stint in a $450,000 per year California rehab centre – paid for by his parents – and 10 years of probation.
Couch’s defense team kept him out of jail after invoking an “affluenza” defence, arguing the teen has psychological problems stemming from his family’s wealth and wasn’t responsible for his actions.
“Affluenza” is not a condition recognized by The American Psychiatric Association, and despite sounding like one is neither a physical affliction, nor a widely recognized legal defense. But it is a recognized term.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as: a: Feelings of guilt, lack of motivation, and social isolation experienced by wealthy people … b. extreme materialism and consumerism associated with the pursuit of wealth and success and resulting in a life of chronic dissatisfaction, debt, overwork, stress, and impaired relationships.
The psychologist for the defense, Gary Miller, testified that Couch’s parents gave him “freedoms no young person should have, and therefore never learned his actions had consequences."
Miller backed this up by relating an incident when, after being caught by police in a pickup truck with a naked 14-year-old girl, Couch was never punished.
In other words, lack of appropriate consequences for his past behaviour was why he should be granted no appropriate consequences for his current behaviour.
So in essence because he was never told “no” by his parents, he was too spoiled to know right from wrong. Too rich for jail.
The legal tactic drew widespread criticism from the legal community and outrage from Couch’s victims.
'Slap on the wrist'
Speaking with CTV News, Toronto criminal defence lawyer Ari Goldkind says Couch is in a lot of trouble, especially after receiving what he says many people justifiably considered a slap on the wrist.
“We don’t seem to value the loss of life when it’s caused by people drinking and driving,” says Goldkind. “He robbed four people of their life. And just as importantly, he injured numerous people with his car, including one man with brain damage, now confined to a wheelchair.”
Couch’s lawyers say they won’t comment on the case until they speak to the client which likely won’t happen before he is returned to the United States.
What is clear is that it’s unlikely the “affluenza” defence is going to work a second time.
Goldkind believes Couch is headed for what he calls ‘big boy jail’ if prosecutors can prove he violated his probation.
“He’s on a six-second video where people are playing ‘beer pong’ and it’s not clear if he’s drinking,” says Goldkind. “So why he would evade a warrant, flee Texas and dye his hair? It makes no sense to me. And it was completely avoidable if he would have had respect for the court process.”
With files from Associated Press