'Affluenza' defence earns Ethan Couch probation in fatal DUI

A judge's decision to give a Texas teen 10 years of probation for a fatal accident sparked outrage from relatives of those killed and has led to questions about the defence's strategy of saying affluenza was the reason not to give him to the maximum 20 years in prison.

Teen killed 4 pedestrians while driving drunk


A judge's decision to give 16-year-old Ethan Couch 10 years of probation for the fatal accident sparked outrage from relatives of those killed and has led to questions about the defence strategy. A psychologist testified in Couch's trial in a Fort Worth juvenile court that as a result of "affluenza," the boy should not receive the maximum 20-year prison sentence prosecutors were seeking.

The term "affluenza" was popularized in the late 1990s by Jessie O'Neill, the granddaughter of a past president of General Motors, when she wrote the book The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence. It has since been used to describe a condition in which children — generally from richer families — have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, make excuses for poor behavior, and sometimes dabble in drugs and alcohol, explained Dr. Gary Buffone, a Jacksonville, Fla., psychologist who does family wealth advising.

Texas teen Ethan Couch received 10 years probation after killing four pedestrians while drunk driving. A psychologist testified in Couch's trial that as a result of "affluenza," the boy should not receive the maximum 20-year prison sentence prosecutors were seeking.

But Buffone said in a telephone interview Thursday that the term wasn't meant to be used as a defence in a criminal trial or to justify such behaviour.


"Essentially what he (the judge) has done is slapped this child on the wrist for what is obviously a very serious offence which he would be responsible for in any other situation," Buffone said. "The defence is laughable, the disposition is horrifying ... not only haven't the parents set any consequences, but it's being reinforced by the judge's actions."


The psychologist testifying as a defence witness at Couch's trial testified that the boy grew up in a house where the parents were preoccupied with arguments that led to a divorce, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.


A message left for Boyd by The Associated Press was not returned Thursday. But the Star-Telegram reported that the judge said the programs available in the Texas juvenile justice system may not provide the intensive therapy Couch could receive at a $450,000-a-year rehabilitation centre near Newport Beach, Calif., that the parents would pay for.



"The concept that I did something because I'm rich and spoiled doesn't look like a good causation," Richard Segura, a supervising attorney at the University of Texas at Austin's Criminal defence Clinic, told the AP. "It doesn't sound like something that would ameliorate the punishment."

On the other hand, he said, the defence attorney would have likely looked at all the facts in the case and tailored them in a way that he thought would best influence the judge's decision. In addition, the judge likely factored in rehabilitation, restitution and other factors when sentencing Couch, Segura said.




