Late last year, a Texan teenager avoided jail time for killing four people while drink-driving because a psychologist said, in his defence, that he has 'affluenza' – the affliction of being raised with so much money he didn't realise the consequences of his actions. Ethan Couch was just 16 when he lost control of his pick-up truck, careering off a road at 70mph, slamming into Breanna Mitchell's broken-down car. As well as killing her with the impact, he hit Brian Jennings, Hollie Boyles and her daughter, Shelby, who had all been trying to help Breanna with her car. Even though it was found that Couch had three times the adult drink-drive limit of alcohol in his system at the time, and he also tested positive for Valium and other drugs, Ethan was only sentenced to 10 years' probation and a stint at a rehabilitation facility.
The ruling, by judge Jean Boyd, caused a lot of controversy. Not only because he, uh, got off after innocent civilians died through his recklessness, but because a large part of the reason he avoided jail time was because psychologist G Dick Miller appeared as a defence witness saying he suffered from the 'affluenza' condition.*
This second trial of Ethan is not a retrial with ends to get a less lenient sentencing, but to do with the people who were injured in the car accident. Two of the seven people in his pick-up were severely injured by the impact; one is paralysed and incapable of speech, the other sustained broken bones and internal injuries. Several of their family members are seeking damages.
In this latest sentencing, prosecutors had wanted Couch to be be imprisoned for 20 years, but, according to The Guardian, his lawyers suggested that his parents should be forced to cough up for him to attend an in-patient rehab facility instead. The courts agreed.
*The psychologist who used the 'affluenza' term has since regretted it: 'I wish I hadn't used that term. Everyone seems to have hooked on to it. We used to call these people spoiled brats.'
Btw, 'Affluenza' as a condition isn't recognised by the American Pyschiatric Association, either.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.