16 yr old defense in DUI deaths --- "Affluenza"

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/29/us/affluenza-teen-ethan-couch-detained-in-mexico/

Kid still isn't going to get any real punishment.

 

I still don't understand how he got off the hook.

Was the judge paid off?

 

Mom's a real piece of work.

 

It happens all the time, just usually isn't so blatant as to actually be labeled "affluenza." We all know poor people go to jail at much higher rates for the same crimes as affluent people. We all know the "need a good lawyer" and "good lawyers are expensive" throwaway lines. our justice system is entwined with money. It's more shocking to me that people don't seem to realize it until a kid gets off for killing people with the defense of "affluenza."

 

I still feel like this particular outcome has to be an outlier.

 

Growing up, I knew two teenagers who stole a car together. Both were equally culpable. One came from a middle class white family, one from the Projects. One went to jail for a year and then got a few years probation. The other got 10 years. Guess which was which. And that's not only the same crime, it was the exact same car at the same time.

 

Justice isn't black or white. It's green.

 

I guess. I just don't know that our Justice system's results are actually justice as often as what should be expected. Not that I have any damn answers, I'm told that the entire system is clogged and crushed with addicts, alcoholics, dipshit junkies, and habitual criminals.

 

If it was an old white lady that refused to issue marriage licenses to gay people, they'd have locked her ass up so fast, her head would spin.

 

This guy will spend more days behind bars than she did, actually. And for a similar reason: defying the court.

 

It's a crying shame that you can kill 4 people and walk away with a slap on the wrists, but piss the judge off, that's a whole different story.

 

Ya, that's kind of what I'm getting at. It seems pretty arbitrary sometimes, from the outside.

 

Our justice system is flawed on many levels.

 

You can't have justice once you start involving morality for justice

 

But all laws are based on morals.

 

I guess one could argue that at its core but I'm talking more about societal norms.

I think all laws should be based off of life, liberty, and property.

 

Even that would be contentious. I can demonstrate certain things like not getting vaccinated affect others' life and liberty, but to force someone else to comply would be impacting their liberty. Ditto with all sorts of pollution and environmental issues. Thinking interactions can all be simplified down to the individual is archaic and doesn't work.

 

That's the most basic group and the make up of our society so it has to broken down to that level, and groups can't have rights above the individual.

Pollution isn't affected in that if it is observable that another is harming someone's life or property that would be illegal.

 

Ten years for stealing a car doesn't seem right. You sure there wasn't something else in play?

 

This kids parents need shot.