Tag Archives: Affluenza teen

Tanya Couch becomes face of parental dysfunction

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Ethan Couch needs to be punished the fullest extent of Texas law.

The problem, though, lies with the law itself. The so-called “affluenza” teen likely won’t spend much time behind bars for violating the conditions of his parole when he fled to Mexico after taking part in a drinking game.

Couch, you’ll recall, is the teenager convicted of killing four people in that hideous drunken-driving wreck in Tarrant County. HIs defense team threw out a defense that his ritzy lifestyle — and his wealthy parents — were responsible for his failing to understand right from wrong.

He should have spent time in juvenile detention, as he was 16 when he committed the crime.

Two years later he’s an adult.

But . . . what about Mommy Couch, Tanya?

She’s more of a villain than that goofball son of hers. She enabled his escape to Mexico and, in fact, fled with him.

Is there a better example than this of parental dysfunction that what Tanya Couch has provided? I’m hard-pressed to find one.

She’s out of jail now, but is confined to her residence; she’s wearing an ankle monitor to track her whereabouts.

Mommy Couch needs to do some serious jail time, although I don’t really know what the maximum sentence is for the crime for which she is likely to be charged with committing.

Whatever it is, she deserves it.

While we’re at it, let’s take a look at the role Daddy Couch might have played in this ridiculous drama.

 

Oh, the irony of the ‘Affluenza Teen’ story

ethan

The hunt for the missing kid known as the “Affluenza Teen” contains a huge twist of irony.

Ethan Couch was 16 years of age when he plowed into a parked car near his Fort Worth hometown, killing four people and injuring others, some of them critically. He was roaring drunk, plastered to the gills, 10 sheets to the wind … all of it. Couch’s blood-alcohol level registered three times greater than the legal definition of drunk while driving.

He could have faced prison time. He got 10 years probation instead, largely on the testimony of a shrink who said he was a “victim” of wealthy parents who raised him without teaching him right from wrong. He was ordered to go into rehab, which didn’t seem to do him much good.

So, what did the kid do? He took part in a drinking game, violating the terms of his probation. He then took off, failing to report to his probation officer.

The ironic part? He apparently went on the lam with his mother. Couch and his mom might have left the state, if not the country.

Doesn’t that simply drive home the idiocy of the sentence that was handed down in the first place?

Couch is facing some prison time when the authorities catch up with him. The U.S. Marshals Office is involved, as are Tarrant County officials. Couch is on the county’s most wanted list.

Once they find him, let’s hope they charge Mommy Couch with aiding and abetting, convict her and toss her into the slammer too.