Ethan Couch's Affluenza Defense

Ethan Couch's Affluenza Defense

Updated Apr 18, 2018 at 02:55AM EDT by Y F.

Added Feb 07, 2014 at 05:14PM EST by Don.

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Overview

Ethan Couch's Affluenza Defense refers to a legal argument put forth by the attorneys of Ethan Couch, a North Texas teenager who fatally injured four pedestrians while driving a pickup truck under the influence of alcohol, which placed the blame for the defendant's reckless actions on his wealthy upbringing and ultimately allowed him to escape a jail time sentence in January 2014.

Background

On December 10th, 2013, Judge Jean Boyd sentenced 15-year-old Ethan Couch to 10 years in probation for killing four people and injuring 11 others while driving his father’s Ford F-350 with a blood alcohol content of .24%, along with traces of Valium, a prescription-strength tranquilizer. Couch’s legal defense then hired psychologist G. Dick Miller, who testified that the boy was unable to understand the consequences of his behavior due to his wealthy upbringing, a condition which he referred to as "affluenza." According to WFAA News,[1] the defense cited an incident in which Couch’s parents failed to discipline him after he was ticketed by police who found him with an unconscious and undressed 14-year-old girl in a parked pickup truck.



Notable Developments

Following the trial, Eric Boyles, who lost his wife and daughter in Couch's crash, criticized the verdict for being influenced by the Couch family's wealth.

"Had he not had money to have the defense there, to also have the experts testify, and also offer to pay for the treatment, I think the results would have been different."

On December 11th, CNN broadcast an interview with Boyles (shown below), which was subsequently submitted to the /r/videos[2] subreddit where it received over 4,300 up votes and 1,500 comments in the first month.



On December 13th, 2013, The Daily Dot[5] reported that 4chan users launched a raid against Couch following his probation sentence, sending pizzas to his house and calling his phone number repeatedly.


Anonymous 12/13/13(Fri)15:28:50 No.521162993 I've been calling but I gotta run now, some ideas I'll leave you all with: You're ashamed that you're black and want sheet metal body armour to hide your skin color Sheet metal butt plug Sheet metal sex doll - Your nephew is a chronic masterbater and want to use their infared imaging to check for semen stains - You want enough free sheet metal to reconstruct your family member that ethan killed You live in the ghetto and need sheet metal body armour to protect from n------ When they ask for name and number say Ethan Couch 8172387572 (according to another poster that is his mother's number)

On December 16th, The Daily Mail[4] reported that Couch's parents had been accused of more than 20 crimes and traffic violations. Fred Couch (shown below, left) had been cited for speeding, theft and assault, while Tonya Couch (shown below, right) had paid a $500 fine for driving another motorist off the road.


6 6 DEPT CLEBURNE, TEXAS ©Johnson County Sheriff's Departm 6 6 5 6 6 © Johnson County Sheriff's Office

On December 20th, Business Insider[3] reported that Judge Jean Boyd had sentenced a black teenager to 10 years imprisonment after killing a man in March 2012. On February 5th, 2014, Judge Boyd delivered the terms for Couch's 10 year probation and rejected the prosecutions request to give Couch jail time on two intoxication assault counts.[7] According to NBC,[8] Boyd ordered that Couch be sent "to a rehabilitation facility paid for by his parents, but didn't require a minimum amount of time to be spent there."

#OpJustice

On February 6th, 2014 a 4chan thread was created for OpJustice (Operation Justice), an operation which urged fellow users to sign a Change.org[6] petition to remove Judge Boyd from the bench, discredit psychologist G. Dick Miller and disseminate an image macro of Boyd across social media platforms (shown below, right). On February 7th, The Daily Dot[9] published an article about the new operation, noting that the petition had received over 25,000 signatures.


File: 1391723047996.png-(209 KB, 717x609, forfuckssake.png) ■ Anonymous 02/06/14(Thu)16:44:07 No.531129493 Replies: 22631 130371 s> P> P> OpJustice Judge who let off 'spoiled' rich teen who killed four in DUI previously put boy aged fourteen in prison for TEN YEARS - Judge Jean Boyd is facing an avalanche of criticism after sentencing Ethars https://www.change.org/petitions/governor-rick-perry-take-judge-jean-b ovd-off-the-bench Couch to 10 years probation for kiling four people in a car crash In the past she has handed out tougher sentence and last year an African- American teenager was jailed for 10 years for punching a man who died .A petition has been launched to have Boyd removed from her position . A psychologist blamed Couch's behavior on a uenza claiming his parents Alright f------ dox as follows Backstory: http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/06/texas-teen-again- given-no-jail-time-for-drunk-driving-accident-that-killed-four-defence- argued-teen-was-too-rich-to-care/ gave him too many freedoms Couch will now spend time at the swanky Newport Academy rehab center in California with his parents footing the bill the accident but is now paralyzed was owned by the company- tor $20milion .Sergio Moina, now 16, was in the back ef Couch's pickup truck and surviverd - Molina's family are now suing Couch and his father's business as the car Psychologist: http:/www gdickmillerphd com/ Father business: Cleburne Metal Works Political fallout: The leading Republican and Democratic candidates in the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election respectively Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis, commented on the sentence. Davis referred to it as a "disgrace" and Abbott, Texas's attorney general, stated that his office was looking to appeal the case Strategy 1. Bump up petition 2. try and find social media accounts (no luck so far) 3. discredit psychologist (email affiliated universities threating social action unless they blacklist him) 4. Also note that SAME judge previously sentenced a black kid for 10 years lets try to leak this to African American activists F------ hel bitches lets do something Judge Jean Boyd ...gave a drunk driver probation instead of prison after his attorneys said he had "affluenza" (growing up rich and spoiled) A------ A------ of the Day December 12, 2013 assholeoftheday.us

Fugitive Status and Capture

In early December 2015, a video that allegedly shows Ethan Couch playing beer pong with friends surfaced on Twitter, which would violate his 10-year probation sentence that prompted a nationwide controversy two years ago (shown below). On December 3rd, Tarrant County Sheriff's Office issued a statement acknowledging the existence of the video via Twitter.[10]



On December 11th, Tarrant County's police authorities revealed that Ethan Couch and his mother Tonya Couch have gone missing and the court has issued a directive to detain the missing individual, the juvenile equivalent of an arrest warrant.[11] By December 18th, the investigation into the video and search of Couch and his mother had been joined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service, which offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Couch via the official Facebook page of Tarrant County Sheriff's Office[12] (shown below).


Tarrant County Sheriff's Office Like This Page December 18- OM CBSOFW.COM CBS Thank you to everyone who is concerned about helping us enforce the Directive to Apprehend Ethan Couch. Our TCSO department is working diligently with the media, FBI and U.S. MARSHALS OFFICE who have now offered a $5000.00 reward for information leading to the arrest of #EthanCouch. US Departmest of Justice Unitnd States Marshals Service Apryl Jackson, Mary Hall, William C Chronological- WANTED By U.S. MARSHALS Andrews and 1,214 others like this. 2,032 shares View previous comments 11 37 MA 5 of 1,050 Parker Youonlylivetwice Taylor $5000 won't do it, the little bastard would pay you $50,000 not to rat him out 2-16 hrs Ted Mechnick If muslims have sharia law we should be aloud vigilante law. Find him. String him up. No lawyer. Truth is truth. Kill two birds with one stone. One less a------ and less lawyers like those in Wasington. Sheriff Dee A Nan: COUCILETHAN ANTIHON 1: 10hrs MALE 1 Reply Greem Bad er Strawberry Tattoo Back WIIITE OR WHUT HISPANIC Laura Moore Saenz Money or no money the law is the law you do the crime you do the time! This young man is s punkass clueless S--! 8 hrs Edited TDE IN 201L, COUCH W IICULAR MANSLAUGHTER IN TIE DEAT OF 4INNOCE VIOLATIONS OF HI PRONTEST PLEASE CONTACT BYSTANDERS AND SENTENCED TO 10YEARS PROBATION ON DECEMBER 1I, 20ISAN ORDER TO ARREST COUCH WAS ISSUED IN TARRANT COUNTY, FORT WORTH, TEXAS, FOR VIOLATIONS OF HIS PROBATION Hector Paiz Hell get his. Karma is always a bitch 5 hrs IN TARRANT COPT RSRORAON ON DECIANR A REWARDOF UP TO 55000 IS BEING OFFERED FOR INFORMATION THAT LEADS TO THE WIEREABOUTS ANDARREST OF COUCIL IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION, P HE US MARSHALS AT 800336 o12 Nick Huggins Ethan said he'll give $10,000 to not tell. Yall should have got this brat when you had the chance. Most Wanted orice or cal te Uled Saks Mardal, service Headquarm戚 1 4 hrs Edited SHERIFF DEE ANDERSON LER IVEARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

On December 21st, the authorities followed up with another Facebook status update[13] officially declaring Couch's mother, Tonya, as a missing person and subject of interest in the investigation, along with photographs and detailed description of a Ford F-150 pickup truck that may have been used as their getaway vehicle (shown below).


Tarrant County Sheriff's Officeadded 3 new photos Yesterday at 8:05am MESSAGE FROM SHERIFF DEE ANDERSON: The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and the United States Marshals are searching for a missing truck belonging to Tonya Lynette Pope Couch. Tonya Couch, born April 26, 1967 is now listed as a missing person in all relevant national databases. Tonya may be in the company of her son Ethan Anthony Couch, 18 wanted on a Directive to Apprehend from the 323rd District Court in Tarrant County, Texas The missing vehicle is a black 2011 Ford F-150 pick-up truck with special Harley Davidson edition badging with 23 inch chrome wheels displaying TEXAS License Plate BC-50945. The picture below is an actual photograph of the vehicle. Tonya Couch's vehicle has crease-like damage to the passenger side real panel. The second photo shows a similar make and model truck with 23 inch wheels. Anyone with information on the location of the truck or the whereabouts of Ethan Anthony Couch or Tonya Lynette Pope Couch please call 1-800-336- 0102 for US Marshals or 817-884-1213. Dee Anderson

The missing vehicle is a black 2011 Ford F-150 pick-up truck with special Harley Davidson edition badging with 23 inch chrome wheels displaying TEXAS License Plate BC-50945. The picture below is an actual photograph of the vehicle. Tonya Couch's vehicle has crease-like damage to the passenger side real panel. The second photo shows a similar make and model truck with 23 inch wheels. Anyone with information on the location of the truck or the whereabouts of Ethan Anthony Couch or Tonya Lynette Pope Couch please call 1-800-336-0102 for US Marshals or 817-884-1213.

As the news of the authorities' manhunt began circulating online[14], the authorities told various news outlets that they have already started looking into "hundreds of tips" that they had received regarding the potential whereabouts of the teenager and his mother from across the United States and abroad. Also on December 21st, the term "affluenza" was highlighted on Google Trends as the third most searched keyword of the day with more than 100,000 queries registered in the United States.


Monday, December 21, 2015 Detroit Lions 200,000+ searches Related searches: new orleans saints, saints, drew brees, calvin johnson, lions 3 things we learned about the Detroit Lions: Darius Slay deserves to be in the MLive.com Detroit averaged 79.3 yards rushing per game under Joe Lombardi, which was dead last i... MLive.com Eagles Ph 100,000+searches 2 Related searches: kirk cousins 95 Eagles' Mychal Kendricks: 'Redskins got something coming to them cBSSports.com The last time the Eagles and Redskins met, the Eagles lost by a field goal in Washington... CBSSports.com Affluenza 100,000+ searches Related searches: ethan couch Tips Pour In From Here and Abroad in Escalated Hunt for Affluenza' Teen ABC News Tips from across the United States- and abroad - are pouring in, authorities say, as the. ABC NewS

On December 28th, Couch and his mother were spotted and arrested by the local authorities in the beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, then transported to immigration offices near the border for deportation to the United States. On December 30th, Tonya Couch, Ethan's mother, was promptly deported from Mexico and arrested by the U.S. authorities upon her arrival at Los Angeles International Airport for hindering the apprehension of a felon, while Couch himself managed to delay his deportation by one month through a court appeal in Mexico.



Sentencing

On January 28th, 2016, Couch was flown back to Texas and taken into state custody for a court hearing on his probation violation. On April 13th, after his juvenile probation case was transferred to the adult court system, the judge sentenced Couch to serve four consecutive terms of 180 days (or roughly two years) in prison as punishment for his original drunk driving case.



Release

On April 2nd, 2018, Couch was released from prison after serving nearly two years. The release came five days after his mother was arrested when her bond was revoked for failing a urine analysis drug test. While walking to a car after his release, Couch was followed by reporters who asked if he had "remorse" or if he wanted to say anything about "his victims," but Couch remained silent (shown below).



Search Interest

External References

Recent Videos 1 total

Recent Images 22 total


Top Comments

Daretobestupid
Daretobestupid

So lemme get this straight: because this little shit-stain didn't get proper discipline from his parents growing up, he should get a lesser sentence, instead of the one that anyone else would have received, which would have helped drive home to him that he can't get away with whatever he likes AND provided him with some some much-needed discipline (not to mention much-deserved anal fun-times in prison)? That judge is either a moron or was bribed. Either way….

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