The Texas man who avoided a lengthy prison sentence after psychologists claimed he suffered from “affluenza” has been released from jail.
Ethan Couch left prison on Monday after serving slightly less than two years for a revoked probation. The release reignited a national debate that began at Couch’s sentencing, when he avoided a possible 20-year prison term based in part on a psychologist's argument that his family’s wealth had altered his judgement.
In 2013, at the age of 16, Couch hit and killed four pedestrians in a drunk driving crash. Two of the passengers in his pickup truck were injured; one was paralysed.
Prosecutors at the time argued he should serve the maximum of 20 years in prison for four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. Defence attorneys pushed for rehabilitation instead.
A psychologist called by the defence suggested Couch suffered from “affluenza,” or a lack of personal responsibility spurred by his affluent upbringing.
“He never learned that sometimes you don’t get your way,” psychologist Gary Miller said at the trial. “He had the cars and he had the money. He had freedoms that no young man would be able to handle.”
Ethan Couch left prison on Monday after serving slightly less than two years for a revoked probation. The release reignited a national debate that began at Couch’s sentencing, when he avoided a possible 20-year prison term based in part on a psychologist's argument that his family’s wealth had altered his judgement.
In 2013, at the age of 16, Couch hit and killed four pedestrians in a drunk driving crash. Two of the passengers in his pickup truck were injured; one was paralysed.
Prosecutors at the time argued he should serve the maximum of 20 years in prison for four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault. Defence attorneys pushed for rehabilitation instead.
A psychologist called by the defence suggested Couch suffered from “affluenza,” or a lack of personal responsibility spurred by his affluent upbringing.
“He never learned that sometimes you don’t get your way,” psychologist Gary Miller said at the trial. “He had the cars and he had the money. He had freedoms that no young man would be able to handle.”
