It looks like ‘affluenza’ is the new ‘temporary insanity’. Yesterday, Glenn shared the stunning verdict out of a Dallas court that has allowed a teenager who killed four people and critically injured others in a drunken car accident to walk away with a mere 10-year probation sentence.
Ethan Couch, a 16-year-old from a wealthy family, faced up to 20 years in prison for the deadly accident he caused. Instead, he received 10-years probation after defense attorneys argued the teen’s parents never taught him the difference between right and wrong. The defense attorneys enlisted the expertise of psychologist Dick Miller to testify that the teen had essentially raised himself and he had an emotional age of 12.
Yesterday, Dr. Miller appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 where he was grilled about why he believes Couch should not be held responsible for his actions. In the heated exchange, Dr. Miller continuously refused to admit Couch actually killed anyone.
“So anyway, Dr. Miller is here. Now, I am only slightly less annoyed at him than I am the judge. [Couch] was taking Valium and drinking. He had people in his car, and he killed four people on the highway. Killed them… Just mows them down,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “What does he get? Well, the judge listens to Dr. Dick Miller, and Dr. Miller is saying, ‘Well, he's suffering from ‘affluenza.’ He had too much and so he didn't really know.’ And so they give the kid probation. Now Anderson Cooper had Dr. Miller on and here's what he said.”
Yes, you heard him correctly, not only should this young adult not be held responsible for his actions, there is room for debate as to whether or not he actually “killed” four people.
“This is when you need duct tape… It's not going to stop your head from exploding, but at least you'll have all the pieces when you go into the hospital,” Glenn joked. “Then when you get to the hospital they'll say, ‘We got another head injury!’ And they will just look at you and they will say, ‘Oh, were you listening to the doctor who got a little fancy and bought his kids a car?’ And you'll say, ‘Yes, I was. My head exploded. Glenn warned me.’”
While the doctor certainly bears responsibility for coming up with the inane excuse, let us not forget the judge’s culpability in the case.
“I think this judge should be impeached. I think this judge who actually listened to this knothead should be impeached. This judge actually sat there and listened to ‘Mr. Fancy Pants’ tell me about affluenza, and the guy can't even admit that he killed four people? And it's because of what his parents did to him,” Glenn said exasperatedly. “No, it's not. If you're not a judge that has that much common sense, you should be impeached, and the people in Texas should impeach [her].”
The judge in question is Tarrant County Judge Jean Boyd, who had already announced she would be leaving the bench in 2014 when he term is up. But Glenn does not believe that is soon enough.
“She should be impeached. She should not leave with her dignity or her record being spotless. This is insanity… I moved to this state because I was looking for some sanity. I can get this in about 37 other states,” Glenn concluded. “He was drunk. His actions speak louder than words. He should go to jail. Somebody needs to teach this kid a lesson. If it's his parents that didn't teach him a lesson, good, then the State shall – at least in my world.”
Morningstar via Investopedia