GUILTY TX - Ethan Couch 'Affluenza Teen' DUI driver who killed four gets probation, 2013 #2

[borndem]

Thank you...that is interesting that hebstill is under j-court, but because they have no real place to isolate him, he had to go to adult jail. I really wonder what was going on in in j-hold. I bet the other kids were not nice. JMO

Yeah, legally his is still considered in juvenile court -- that decision will come soon enuff, I guess. He was moved to adult jail simply because they have isolated cells or whatever. I'm assuming they will bring him his meals and he will eat in his cell, and that should be a relief -- no having to keep looking over his shoulder, and a bummer -- no one to talk to, no change of "scenery." (That may not be the case, but the big-boys wouldn't be any nicer to him, IMO, than the juvies were -- unless he were to find a protector & that comes as a quid pro quo, and the quo would be one big bummer, IMO.)

Whatever the case, he will have lots & lots of time to think. He's having to grow up fast with really no one with decent values to help him. That's tuff, but he made his bed and he has been having to lie in it.

 

[faw720]

And miserable doesn't necessarily equal repentant. He's only feeling sorry for himself. Bet he could use a good drink about now!

Your last sentence made me LOL!

 

[faw720]

Whatever the case, he will have lots & lots of time to think. He's having to grow up fast with really no one with decent values to help him. That's tuff, but he made his bed and he has been having to lie in it.

Yep, to turn his life around he would need a really good support system from decent people & I don't see that happening. His half brother may be decent but he's taking care of 'Mommy Dearest' & that's more than any one human should be expected to take on. I think, perhaps his half sister is a decent enough person, but I don't think she's dumb enough to take him on. She was the one who told 'Mommy Dearest' just a week before the fatal wreck that it was a very bad idea for Ethan to be living by himself & that he would be drinking & getting into trouble. (per 20/20 interview)

 

[MsJosie]

This is probably the first time in his life, he does not have mommy or daddy at his call, around all the time, or getting him out of trouble. IMO that is could, but no where long enough and he needs years of help without mommy. IMO mommy will always be the one to keep in contact.....he would go to daddy who has money.

 

[faw720]

Dad is not any better than mom & doesn't even begin to have an idea how to positively influence Ethan. Parents are both morally bankrupt!! Nothing short of a miracle can save Ethan from himself!!

 

[jjenny]

In reality, I think he was doing a lot of that. He wasn't socializing much, and dropped out of school. He was basically a recluse.

I don't know how many parties he went to before the video surfaced. From what I read, no one had seen much of him after the accident.

Where exactly did you read that? I haven't found anything in msm claiming "no one had seen much of him after the accident."

 

[jjenny]

Well, I personally don't ever hope anyone is miserable their whole lives for a very stupid, very youthful accident. But in your earlier post you said your hope is that he could straighten out his life, and no, that's not really possible. When you kill several people and maim an acquaintance, it's unlikely you can ever "straighten out your life".

What looks like joyful hilarity to some can actually be screaming pain. He dropped out of high school after the accident, and didn't socialize with friends and basically did nothing. He was filmed at a drunken party (not good, but not necessarily an indication that he's blithely going on with life) and now he looks like a 30 year old shipwreck victim.

The cop who first found him drunk with the naked 14 year old girl in his truck tried to set him straight, tried to give him a warning. He was too youthful to heed it, and look at where he is now.

I'm absolutely certain he'd give a LOT to take back what he's done. I think if he could take back that night he'd give almost anything.

I have hopes for him that are similar to his roadside victims families - that he can reclaim something of his life, and find a purpose in warning others not to make the same horrible, horrible mistake.

Do you have a source for any of this information? He dropped out of high school after the accident? My understanding he wasn't going to school even before the accident. He didn't socialize with friends? Really? He was allegedly filmed by one of these friends at a drinking party, so how would that happen if he didn't socialize with friends?
The rest of it is your opinion for which I don't think there is any actual proof exists. Unless you are inside his head, you can't possibly know what he actually thinks.

 

[JeannaT]

Where exactly did you read that? I haven't found anything in msm claiming "no one had seen much of him after the accident."

It was in an early piece on websleuths, when it first came to light he had fled the country. I'm leaving in a minute for a superbowl party but will have time to go back and look later tonight.

 

[Ray_of_hope]

The problem is that the night he killed four people was not the first time he had been caught drinking and driving. He had been caught drinking and driving before that with a half naked girl in the passenger seat and according to the officer who caught him "cautioned on the perils of drinking and driving."

He even mouthed off as the police questioned him. He said he had taken pre-law classes and knew what police could and couldn't do to him.

He left with two citations and his mother, Tonya, who was called to the scene.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ethan-couch-family-history-legal-problems-article-1.2514777

That was four months before he killed all those people and all the affluenza nonsense started.

I don't feel sorry for him at all. He deserves worse, IMO.

Maybe I'll think about pitying him when he's actually punished for something that he does wrong and he expresses a shred of remorse for the lives he's ruined beyond his own.

Great post. I may have empathy for someone who makes a mistake. But this was not Ethan's first rodeo and he's proven by subsequent actions that those lives were meaningless to him. I also read the article of how he became a recluse immediately after the 'accident'. But looks like he finally came out to party in the beer pong vid. Poor choices and arrogant actions...

 

[jjenny]

He couldn't legally drive after the accident. As such, it wouldn't be surprising if he was less "outgoing" than prior. He obviously still somehow managed to get to the party where he was filmed. I just don't see why he should be getting any credit for not being out and about as much. Juvenile probation sounds like a big joke. My understanding is, if he managed to not violate probation until he turned 19, his probation would have been over (unless prosecutor asked for it to be transferred to an adult court). So all he had to do is to avoid the type of party until he is 19.

 

[JeannaT]

He couldn't legally drive after the accident. As such, it wouldn't be surprising if he was less "outgoing" than prior. He obviously still somehow managed to get to the party where he was filmed. I just don't see why he should be getting any credit for not being out and about as much. Juvenile probation sounds like a big joke. My understanding is, if he managed to not violate probation until he turned 19, his probation would have been over (unless prosecutor asked for it to be transferred to an adult court). So all he had to do is to avoid the type of party until he is 19.

My whole post was a remembrance of an article where he didn't graduate from high school, and he was a recluse. I can't find that article again, lots of links are 404 from a year ago.

I just feel empathy for teenagers who make big mistakes, and I don't hate people who accidentally caused harm.

There are enough people in the world who set out to murder people, and I think that's where our anger might be focused, not on people who didn't purposely harm anyone.

It is very interesting to me, people who are horrific, their threads on this forum go by the wayside pretty quickly. Ugly nasty parents who torture kids to death get about 40 or fewer posts and then their crimes are forgotten, for starving or beating babies to death.

This case? This teenager meant no harm whatsoever, and he was an abandoned teen who was taking a friend to the store for tampons while he was drunk and this is now 3 years of posting about him.

I really, really don't understand how this public forum hates him 10X parents who starve little ones to death on purpose.

 

[jjenny]

Personally, I object to drunk drivers being described as "meaning no harm whatsoever." Sounds like you think drunk driving is some harmless hobby that doesn't hurt anyone.
You should read up on statistics.

"Every 53 minutes on average, someone is killed in a drunk driving crash (9,878 people in total in 2011). Every two minutes, someone is injured because of this entirely preventable crime. You can learn more about drunk driving in your state."
http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

 

[jkly]

I really, really don't understand how this public forum hates him 10X parents who starve little ones to death on purpose.

I don't hate him more than people who starve little children to death on purpose. But he does disgust me.

He killed four people and permanently disabled one person, this after already having been caught drinking and driving. His intentions don't change the end result.

Then he violated his parole instead of thanking God for his already shockingly lenient punishment. Then he took off with his mother and ran away to live it up in some resort in Mexico instead of turning himself in and taking his punishment like a man. What about his behavior demonstrates remorse or any consideration for the pain he's caused whatsoever?

Fun fact. Serial killers only need three victims to reach serial killer status. That means he's killed more people than some serial killers out there.

In my opinion, the only misguided chivalry that went on that night belonged to the unfortunate people who stopped to aid someone who was broken down on the side of the road and ended up losing their lives for it. He should have told that girl to handle it herself instead of getting in his truck after mixing alcohol and valium.

The unthinkable didn't just happen. He made it happen.

 

[faw720]

My whole post was a remembrance of an article where he didn't graduate from high school, and he was a recluse. I can't find that article again, lots of links are 404 from a year ago.

I just feel empathy for teenagers who make big mistakes, and I don't hate people who accidentally caused harm.

There are enough people in the world who set out to murder people, and I think that's where our anger might be focused, not on people who didn't purposely harm anyone.

It is very interesting to me, people who are horrific, their threads on this forum go by the wayside pretty quickly. Ugly nasty parents who torture kids to death get about 40 or fewer posts and then their crimes are forgotten, for starving or beating babies to death.

This case? This teenager meant no harm whatsoever, and he was an abandoned teen who was taking a friend to the store for tampons while he was drunk and this is now 3 years of posting about him.

I really, really don't understand how this public forum hates him 10X parents who starve little ones to death on purpose.

I don't think it is hate as much as outrage at the entire situation. From the beginning this case has been handled very poorly by the judicial system. It's been as if the dead, injured, & their families were nothing more than trash on the side of the road. It's always been about poor Ethan & saving him the consequences of his actions. All I can say is poor Ethan my A$$.

 

[faw720]

I don't hate him more than people who starve little children to death on purpose. But he does disgust me.

He killed four people and permanently disabled one person, this after already having been caught drinking and driving. His intentions don't change the end result.

Then he violated his parole instead of thanking God for his already shockingly lenient punishment. Then he took off with his mother and ran away to live it up in some resort in Mexico instead of turning himself in and taking his punishment like a man. What about his behavior demonstrates remorse or any consideration for the pain he's caused whatsoever?

Fun fact. Serial killers only need three victims to reach serial killer status. That means he's killed more people than some serial killers out there.

In my opinion, the only misguided chivalry that went on that night belonged to the unfortunate people who stopped to aid someone who was broken down on the side of the road and ended up losing their lives for it. He should have told that girl to handle it herself instead of getting in his truck after mixing alcohol and valium.

The unthinkable didn't just happen. He made it happen.

Fantastic post!! Thank you!!!!!!!

 

[1&2&3]

Adding my two cents to the above discussion. Ethan Couch's case has stayed in the headlines due to the outrageous sentence the judge gave him!

What teenager does not know you do not drink and drive? He killed 5 people - the one that is living is in a vegetable state which is not a functioning living person with any quality of life.

There are cases on record of 16 year olds and younger murdering one (1) person for which they are sentenced to 30 years or longer in jail. EC killed 4 people and is only sentenced to 10 years probation because a dumb azz lawyer spins a tale which the judge accepts.

Another reason there is continuing outrage over this case is it is plain to see there were some under the table dealings here. Call it paid off, buy out, any name you want, it's all the same. No doubt in my mind! The sentence does not fit the crime.

My opinions only.

 

[nrdsb4]

I get that teens do stupid things like drink and drive. I give them more leeway than adults who do, because presumably adults' brains are more developed and understand more fully the concepts of cause and effect, consequences to actions, both short term and long. The reason we have a separate juvenile criminal system vs. adult is for those very reasons, and for the reasons that kids CAN be turned around. I think many on this forum would be perfectly happy if we did not have separate criminal systems. They want to throw away the key forever no matter the age of the perpetrator.

My bigger problem with Ethan Couch is that he never-from the very beginning-showed any comprehension of the magnitude of his actions. He never seemed upset or contrite at his actions. He didn't seem TO GET IT. He didn't seem to feel devastated about the lives lost, the lives ruined. His focus has always SEEMED to be on himself and avoiding any accountability.

If he had truly been remorseful, had gone about the business of cleaning up his act, if he'd apologized to the families, gotten counseling, and perhaps made attempts to gain some good out of the situation (like talking to high school kids about what happened, urging them against drinking and driving, etc.), I would feel that the judge had made the right decision.

Unfortunately, due to his idiot parents and possibly the kid's own personality disorders, he was a lost cause from the very beginning. He's now an adult, and deserving of most of the scorn being heaped upon him now.

 

[JeannaT]

My bigger problem with Ethan Couch is that he never-from the very beginning-showed any comprehension of the magnitude of his actions. He never seemed upset or contrite at his actions. He didn't seem TO GET IT. He didn't seem to feel devastated about the lives lost, the lives ruined. His focus has always SEEMED to be on himself and avoiding any accountability.

If he had truly been remorseful, had gone about the business of cleaning up his act, if he'd apologized to the families, gotten counseling, and perhaps made attempts to gain some good out of the situation (like talking to high school kids about what happened, urging them against drinking and driving, etc.), I would feel that the judge had made the right decision.

Unfortunately, due to his idiot parents and possibly the kid's own personality disorders, he was a lost cause from the very beginning. He's now an adult, and deserving of most of the scorn being heaped upon him now.

(respectfully snipped for space)

But that's not how true remorse and regret looks on a 16 year old, when they've done something horrific. If they've done some little sin, like backing dad's car into the garage door, remorse looks like a sincere apology and extra helpfulness around the house, offers to help pay for damage, etc.

Remorse after a horrific tragedy that took 4 lives doesn't look clean. It doesn't involve gracious public apologies, and resolve to use their own lives in a way that has a positive affect on the world.

Remorse and regret, in a 16 year old, looks like a complete falling apart usually. An implosion. A spiraling into the depths. And from what I've read (there has been very very little published about Ethan's behavior after the crash and before the videotaped teen party), that's exactly what his life was. An implosion.

 

[nrdsb4]

(respectfully snipped for space)

But that's not how true remorse and regret looks on a 16 year old, when they've done something horrific. If they've done some little sin, like backing dad's car into the garage door, remorse looks like a sincere apology and extra helpfulness around the house, offers to help pay for damage, etc.

Remorse after a horrific tragedy that took 4 lives doesn't look clean. It doesn't involve gracious public apologies, and resolve to use their own lives in a way that has a positive affect on the world.

Remorse and regret, in a 16 year old, looks like a complete falling apart usually. An implosion. A spiraling into the depths. And from what I've read (there has been very very little published about Ethan's behavior after the crash and before the videotaped teen party), that's exactly what his life was. An implosion.

I respectfully disagree that 16 year olds are not capable of the actions I described.

 

[JeannaT]

I respectfully disagree that 16 year olds are not capable of the actions I described.

Can you think of any cases where that reaction happened? I'm searching my mind, both public cases and private tragedies I've known about and all I see are kids who break and spiral down, even in cases where the incident was truly no one's fault, just a pure accident (unlike drunk driving).

I'm asking honestly, pondering this - have you ever seen a teen who causes a horrific tragedy quickly clean themselves up and become spokespersons for that cause? Remember, it has only been 2 years since the deaths.