XPost: alt.society.liberalism, alt.politics.democrats, sac.politics   
   XPost: houston.general   
   From: hanging.tree@texas.com   
      
   A judge on Wednesday ordered so-called “affluenza teen” Ethan   
   Couch to spend two years behind bars — 180 days for each of the   
   four people he killed in a fatal 2013 drunken-driving wreck.   
      
   That's likely to provide little comfort to the families of   
   Breanna Mitchell, Brian Jennings, Hollie Boyles and Shelby   
   Boyles , who already have spent more time without their loved   
   ones than Couch is set to spend in jail.   
      
   “Never once has Ethan apologized in any shape or form,” Eric   
   Boyles, whose wife, Hollie, and daughter, Shelby, were killed in   
   the crash, told ABC in 2015.   
      
   Until Wednesday, Couch's only punishment for the 2013 crash had   
   been probation, leaving families little recourse except to seek   
   financial compensation. Eric Boyles filed one suit seeking more   
   than $1 million and Mitchell's mom and Jennings' wife each filed   
   their own lawsuits.   
      
   Two passengers in Couch's truck who were injured that night also   
   sued him. One of those passengers, Sergio Molina, suffered brain   
   damage and ultimately settled with Couch for $2 million in 2014.   
      
   Couch appeared in adult court Wednesday for the first time, as   
   he is no longer considered a juvenile. He spent his 19th   
   birthday on Monday in a Texas jail cell.   
      
   Judge Wayne Salvant sentenced Couch to four consecutive 180-day   
   sentences (720 total days) – one for each victim he killed. It   
   was not clear if that would include the time Couch has already   
   spent in jail.   
      
   Couch was originally sentenced to probation for killing four   
   people and seriously injuring two others in June 2013 when the   
   then-16-year-old rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of people   
   helping a disabled motorist. His blood-alcohol level was three   
   times above the legal limit for adult drivers. Attorneys for   
   Couch argued that his affluent life contributed to his wreckless   
   actions, with one defense psychologist using the term   
   "affluenza."   
      
   Couch, however, appeared to violate the terms of his probation   
   when he was seen at a party where alcohol was being served in an   
   online video. After the video became public, Couch and his   
   mother fled to Mexico in December. He was eventually captured   
   and returned to the U.S. in January.   
      
   Salvant told prosecution and defense attorneys they had two   
   weeks to review the ruling and see if they could “change my   
   mind” about the sentence.   
      
   The 2013 fatal wreck wasn't Couch's first run-in with the law.   
      
   At 15, Couch was given two citations after a police officer   
   found him behind the wheel of a pickup truck next to a half-   
   naked girl, with an open vodka bottle on the backseat floor.   
      
   "I spoke with him at some length about the various consequences   
   of his driving and drinking," a police officer wrote in a   
   report, "such as effects on (his) driver's license and his path   
   in life, especially DWI and even killing someone in a DWI."   
      
   Couch's father, Fred, runs a roofing and construction company   
   and has faced lawsuits over a $100,000 debt and allegations of   
   sexual harassment. Tonya, Couch's mother, has been charged with   
   hindering the apprehension of a felon for helping Ethan flee to   
   Mexico.   
      
   Dr. Dick Miller, the psychologist who suggested Couch had   
   "affluenza," blamed Couch's parents at his sentencing for having   
   "taught him a system that's 180 degrees from rational. If you   
   hurt someone, say you're sorry. In that family, if you hurt   
   someone, send some money."   
      
   http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/04/13/latest-texas-affluenza-teen-   
   to-remain-in-jail.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)