If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard the words “Ethan Couch” and “affluenza teen” thrown around on the news over the past several months, but you didn’t know exactly why.
Ethan Couch is an 18-year-old American male, who, back in 2013, at the age of 16, killed four people in a drunk driving accident, in which he was the intoxicated driver. He was prosecuted as a juvenile and convicted of four charges of intoxicated manslaughter. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal driving limit. His lawyers were able to get him ten years of probation after arguing he suffered from “affluenza.” Affluenza refers to the condition that a child can be coddled and pampered into a sense of irresponsibility. "Gerry Miller, a psychologist testifying on behalf of the defense in Ethan Couch’s trial, told the court: ‘the teen never learned to say that you’re sorry if you hurt someone. If you hurt someone, you sent him money.’” Though this was accepted in court, the American Psychiatric Association does not recognize it as a medical diagnosis.
Ethan Couch’s parents, Fred and Tonya, have had many brushes with the law themselves, involving anything from speeding to assault. Fred Couch has been arrested for theft, evading arrest, and an alleged assault against his ex-wife. He has also paid out over nine driving tickets. Tonya had a $500 fine for forcing a driver off the road.
Two years later and Couch is making headlines again, this time from a video being posted on Twitter by an anonymous user saying “ya boy ethan couch violating probation. i got more if u want.” Following this video, Ethan Couch and his mother, Tonya, fled the country to Mexico to evade authorities. Tonya Couch was deported from Mexico back to the United States, while Ethan remains in custody in Mexico. "The teen would stay in Mexico until the Mexican Federal Judge ascertains whether or not Ethan's rights are, or potentially will be, violated."
Right now, Couch's worst punishment he could be facing is 120 days in jail. At the time of his initial sentencing, Couch was 16 and therefore charged as a juvenile. At this time, Couch is 18, and still in the juvenile system. He can be imprisoned in the juvenile system until he turns 19, which will be on April 11 of 2016. Since these crimes and violations are under the rule of the juvenile system, Ethan cannot be charged for them as an adult, which means that once he hits the adult probation system, he will have a clean slate.
