据英国《每日邮报》2月6日报道，美国当地时间2月5日，德克萨斯州一名家境富裕的16岁少年伊坦·库奇因醉驾致4人死亡多人受伤一案二审完毕。库奇再次以"富贵病"为由被法院判为接受康复治疗，免去牢狱之灾。此举再次引发受害者家属的严重不满和外界的猛烈抨击。
醉驾案发生于去年6月15日晚，库奇与多名朋友从商店偷窃啤酒后饮至酩酊大醉，又驾驶其父公司的小型客货车兜风，途中超速狂飙导致车辆失控撞向路边行人，并引发连环撞车。4名路人当场死亡，另有10人受伤，其中2名库奇车上的友人至今瘫痪，只能用眨眼来同他人交流，其家人已收到超过100万美元（约合606万元人民币）的医疗账单。
事发后经检验，库奇体内酒精浓度超标3倍，并含镇定剂成分。据报道，车祸当时，库奇非常专横，还扬言赶紧离开。
2013年12月11日，此案在德州沃斯堡少年法庭审理。时任法官博伊德(Jean Boyd)为免除库奇的牢狱之灾，称他被父母宠坏了，不知道自己行为所产生的后果，是需要治疗的被告，遂判处10年缓刑。库奇的辩护律师更是传召心理学家米勒（Dick Miller）作供，指库奇家庭条件优越，父母给予儿子其他青少年不会有的自由，纵容他的一切行为，导致其未能学会为自己的行为负责，成为"富贵病"的牺牲品。
2014年2月5日二审结束后，该案的受害者家属说，他们对库奇再次因"富贵病"而免除牢狱之灾感到不安。他们认为，库奇之所以能够轻易逃脱法律制裁，是因其父母有钱所致。
在此案中丧失妻子和女儿的布洛勒斯（Eric Broyles）说，如果库奇没有钱聘用辩护律师，没有专家为其作证，没有出钱为伤者进行治疗，判决结果一定会不一样。在此案中痛失女儿的米歇尔（Marla Mitchell）则愤怒地表示，不论是金钱、名誉，还是地位，都不应成为富人的特权，让他们能够为所欲为，甚至不惜牺牲他人性命，同时不必为其行为遭受任何处罚。
—–
No jail for ‘affluenza’ teen in fatal crash draws outrage
Gary Strauss @gbstrauss, USA TODAY 4:01 p.m. EST February 6, 2014
In a case with growing political ripples, a Texas judge’s reaffirmation placing a teen involved in a drunken-driving fatal accident on probation is drawing fresh outrage from the victims’ families.
Ethan Couch, 17, will be on 10 years probation after Texas District Judge Jean Boyd again decided against jail time. He’ll also be in a drug and rehab center for an unspecified time. Couch’s attorneys used an “affluenza” defense at his trial last year, saying the then 16-year-old had grown up with a sense of entitlement and developed poor judgment after being coddled by his wealthy parents.
Prosecutors said Couch’s blood-alcohol level was three times the Texas legal limit when his pickup slammed into a group of people who were helping a woman with a stalled car last June. The driver, Breanna Mitchell, and bystanders Brian Jennings, Hollie Boyes and daughter Shelby, were killed. Nine others were injured.
According to police, Couch was going 70 mph in a 40 mph zone when he lost control of his father’s pickup and his blood alcohol content was 0.24. The state’s legal limit for adults is 0.08. Couch had been cited earlier in 2013 for being a minor in possession of alcohol and consuming alcohol as a minor, pleading no contest to both charges in a March hearing.
Couch, who pleaded earlier to four counts of intoxication manslaughter, was back in court this week after prosecutors again sought a 20-year jail term related to the crash. But in a hearing closed to the media, Boyd reaffirmed her earlier sentence.
Psychologist G. Dick Miller testified at Couch’s trial that the you was given “freedoms no young person should have” and that he felt no rational link between behavior and consequences. Miller has since regretting using the term affluenza.
“This kid had medical problems, he had social anxiety disorder, he had all sorts of things. He had depression. He found alcohol was his medicine,” Miller said in a December interview. “I think that term, ‘affluenza,’ which I was just using to describe what we used to call spoiled brats, it’s not a diagnosis.”
Two Texas gubernatorial candidates have spoken out on the case, while court observers and psychologists say the affluenza defense could be used in future cases involving juveniles, sending a dangerous message that could reinforce reckless behavior and poor judgment.
Victims’ family members remain outraged.
“No matter where he goes … no matter what game he and his family think they’ve beaten … the world is not ever going to take their eyes off of him,” said Marla Mitchell, Breanna’s mother. “Let’s let them know that no amount of money or prestige is ever going to grant them immunity for what they chose for their life that caused this for our lives.”
Eric Boyles, who lost his wife and daughter in the accident, said news media should have been allowed in the juvenile court hearing.
“If anything, the ability to tamp this down, keep this quiet, let this go away is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Absolutely this story has to go on,” he said.
The case could be a hot-button political issue. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has called Boyd’s decision a disgrace. And Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican contender, said he’s trying to determine if Couch’s sentence can be appealed.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who serves as president of the Senate, has already asked for a sentencing guideline study of intoxication manslaughter cases.
本文免翻墙链接：谷歌镜像 | 亚马逊镜像
相关日志
没有评论:
发表评论