Rich Texas kid gets no jail time for killing 4 with his defense of being rich

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Isn't thinking you can get away with manslaughter because you're rich called sociopathy? Something like that.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

We tolerate far too much killing by car.

[pbrower2a]

And people think I'm being overly strict when I advocate the use of the death penalty in the case of DUI homicides.

You are. Car accidents can and do happen whether or not a driver is drunk. Death can result.

And the chance is much much greater when one is drunk.  I'll admit to perhaps taking DUI a bit too personally.  I have a niece and nephew who lost their father a couple of decades ago as a result of a self-inflicted DUI fatality.  Fortunately no one else was in the vehicle, so no one else got hurt unless you count the tree.  But I got to witness first hand the harm having to unexpectedly attend a closed casket funeral can do to little ones.

Add to that -- alcohol is a far harder drug for a juvenile than for an adult.

I wonder whether some judge was bought.

[Likely Voter]

Will cops start pulling over teens for driving while affluent?

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

And people think I'm being overly strict when I advocate the use of the death penalty in the case of DUI homicides. (Or at the very least treating it as equivalent to any other first degree murder case.)  Tho to be fair I don't advocate the death penalty for juveline offenders.

I don't support the death penalty as a general rule, but think that DUI homicides should be treated as first degree murder. DUI is both willful and premeditated, and a fatal accident is an obviously forseeable outcome.

[IceSpear]

Gotta love the American justice system. If you're rich and white, you get a slap on the wrist for mass murder (or alternatively, for wrecking the economy). If you're poor and black, you get 10 years in jail for smoking weed or stealing a soda.

[minionofmidas]

Execute him.

His parents would just buy a new one.

[morgieb]

TBH, I don't have a problem with this punishment for a minor, although the defence was WTF. A long jail sentence/hanging is far too harsh for murder which shouldn't be first degree, particularly given the age of the guy. He'd probably get sued heavily, so he will suffer some retribution I guess.

But it is true that he would go to jail if he was a poor black kid.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

lolAmericanjusticesystemlol

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Execute him.

[TDAS04]

Pretty disgusting. 

[Boris]

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Teen-Admits-Guilt-in-Drunken-Driving-Crash-That-Killed-Four-234477461.html

It's actually sort of impressive he was able to stand, let alone drive after drinking (straight?) everclear. I'd be hugging a toilet all night if you gave me that sh**t at age 16.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Injustice is sickening.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Injustice is sickening.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

What happened to the Hang Em' High TX judges?

[Ban my account ffs!]

What happened to the Hang Em' High TX judges?

At this point?  Probably too high to hang 'em.

[Smash255]

What happened to the Hang Em' High TX judges?

The kid isn't black, hispanic, poor nor mentally handicap.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

What happened to the Hang Em' High TX judges?

The kid isn't black, hispanic, poor nor mentally handicap.

Good point.  And Daddy is probably going to write a HUGE check to that judge's re-election campaign.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

This is disgusting on every level, what else is there to say?  The wealthies own all.  We don't even TRY with them anymore.  So loaded that you don't know right from wrong.  Must be real tough.

[Brewer]

Gotta love the American justice system. If you're rich and white, you get a slap on the wrist for mass murder (or alternatively, for wrecking the economy). If you're poor and black, you get 10 years in jail for smoking weed or stealing a soda.

THIS. We have now reached the point in time where being born into a wealthy family is an adequate excuse for killing four people and injuring two others. Who gives a damn if he made a stupid drunk mistake? His defense is that his family is RICH. I mean...ugh, it's just sickening. If this were a poor black kid you better believe he'd be getting more than a petty slap on the wrist.

[DINGO Joe]

What happened to the Hang Em' High TX judges?

They got rich and had kids.

[Lincoln Republican]

Seems to me the only thing this family understands is money.

Hit them with a 10 million dollar civil suit.  Just might work.

[Badger]

FWIW, from what I read about the case the judge had to make the call between a sentence that under Texas juvi law would've made the kid eligible for release onto probation with inpatient treatment after two years incarceration, or forgoing the incarceration and going with probation and inpatient treatment as he did. Not sure what his practical likelyhood of release after two years would've been, though the defense attorney seemed to believe it likely would have been granted (caveat duly noted considering the source, but I don't know Texas law or the judge).

That said, the judge's decision was horrid. "Affluenza", clinically speaking, is an utter crock of feces. Even without that headline-grabbing defense, it's hard to begin justifying this sentence.

[traininthedistance]

We tolerate far too much killing by car.

This of course.  Also this is definitely the best guillotine advertisement I've seen in quite awhile.

I don't support the death penalty for DUI murders like Ernest does, because I don't support it for anything short of genocide/war crimes.  But I would support charging all drivers who kill with at least involuntary manslaughter, and possibly second-degree murder in DUI cases.

[Goldwater]

Disgusting.