Rod and Paula's killer gets slap on wrist

[keesler 5,924]

5 hours ago, DAG said:

People say this but you see youth get charged way more years for selling weed smh. This kid took two people lives by being super reckless, and we got people saying the judge followed the law. That’s the problem, it is a joke.

He not only took two innocent people's lives, he proceeded to rack up 2 speeding tickets after the deaths and damned if he didn't fail alcohol tests while out on bond recently.  SMDH what a idiot his parents have raised. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

39 minutes ago, Gowebb11 said:

Open question for all: is the legal outcome the same, and opinions of the outcome the same if this were a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks? 

No

[ToomersStreet 795]

7 hours ago, The Freak said:

We'll know because as soon as he gets out, he'll do something else dumb.

Him or someone else.  Because there are no consequences for actions.

[NoALtiger 3,857]

Pays to have a good attorney, that is proven time and again. This whole thing has been a incredibly tragic event. It’s  still hard to accept and probably always will be. 

[cbo 7,843]

1 hour ago, keesler said:

He not only took two innocent people's lives, he proceeded to rack up 2 speeding tickets after the deaths and damned if he didn't fail alcohol tests while out on bond recently.  SMDH what a idiot his parents have raised. 

It's not always the parents' fault. He clearly has mental or addiction issues or both. It would be nice if he could get treatment for that, to address the actual problem. 

His behavior was horrid and you would think the crash would have been a wake up call. Maybe he was spinning out of control from the guilt. Maybe he is a horrible human. Who knows. 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

OP check your thread title

[DAG 33,980]

4 hours ago, cbo said:

It's not always the parents' fault. He clearly has mental or addiction issues or both. It would be nice if he could get treatment for that, to address the actual problem. 

His behavior was horrid and you would think the crash would have been a wake up call. Maybe he was spinning out of control from the guilt. Maybe he is a horrible human. Who knows. 

Addiction issues maybe . Mental health history is a big assumption right there , coming from a mental health practitioner. If that were the case , I am sure his lawyer would’ve been quick to throw that out there after a detailed mental status exam

[jAUSon 2,836]

7 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

Open question for all: is the legal outcome the same, and opinions of the outcome the same if this were a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks? 

Not imo

Then again- are we salivating for a more punitive outcome because it's the Brametts?

Edited April 30, 2021 by jAUSon

[jAUSon 2,836]

6 hours ago, ToomersStreet said:

Him or someone else.  Because there are no consequences for actions.

In a nutshell. 

A special kid-gap of youthfull offender where they can kill you with a car but no-biggie because they're kids. He wasn't accountable that afternoon and in the eyes of the law he isn't now. 

Edited April 30, 2021 by jAUSon

[CoffeeTiger 5,103]

21 hours ago, bigbird said:

No, he would not have been dead. However, convicted of murder/manslaughter/etc. would have left his life ruined and most definitely taken away any future plans he had.  As I said, I hope he takes advantage of it.

I hope so too. But Considering he apparently comes from a rather well off, connected family I'm not so sure how 'ruined' his life would be afterwards. Even if he had to spend some of his young adult life in jail, his family would have more than likely set him up with something nice when he got out.

Kind of like Any Reid's son, Britt, who spent a couple years in jail for drug distribution and has had other incidents, but when he got out of jail he'd just follow his Father around and get good NFL assistant jobs.  Now, when he gets out of jail (hopefully he gets jail time) for permanently injuring a 5 year old kid while driving drunk, he may not be able to be hired back into the NFL, but I'm sure his dad will take care of him again.  

Edited April 30, 2021 by CoffeeTiger

[keesler 5,924]

16 hours ago, cbo said:

It's not always the parents' fault. He clearly has mental or addiction issues or both. It would be nice if he could get treatment for that, to address the actual problem. 

His behavior was horrid and you would think the crash would have been a wake up call. Maybe he was spinning out of control from the guilt. Maybe he is a horrible human. Who knows. 

I'm harsh where this is concerned, so I'm not saying you are wrong.

I find it hard to give the parents the benefit of the doubt when they allowed him to drive again shortly after the accident and he not only racked up one but TWO excessive speeding tickets.  The kid killed two innocent people with an automobile and he's allowed to go on driving to the point where he gets two more tickets?  He attended alcohol/drug rehab so he had to go through the treatment plan with counseling, group sessions, etc.

He went through alcohol/drug monitoring and failed the piss tests very recently.  WTH?  IMO that's careless parenting any way I look at it.

[DAG 33,980]

I am not going to blame the parents as much as this child. Again, he took two innocent lives driving recklessly and supposedly , he got in hot water some more according to @keesler. Sorry I find it hard to have empathy for someone who parents supposedly did the best they could for him, gave him the best life and he pretty much has all the resources for himself. I work with too many people set up to fail to empathize with this situation. 

[TigerTale 357]

I understand that the law is the law. But if you are old enough to do adult things like drive, then you are old enough to do adult things like jail. There seems to be a disconnect between what people under 18 are allowed to do and the consquences they suffer for doing those things wrong.

[abw0004 10,110]

This in a way reminds me of the "entitled affluenza" teen Ethan Couch if you remember his case.  For those not familiar, he was 16 when he killed four people driving under the influence.  He comes from a well-off family and his attorney claimed he was a victim of "entitled affluenza" and that argument won.  He got rehabilitation instead of jail time as the sentence.  While on probation he was photographed drinking at a party so he fled with his mother, where a manhunt ensued.

Sometimes if you come from a well-off family, it does not necessarily mean you pay enough attention to your children as you should as parents.  I am not sure who to blame though in this case as we don't know enough about his family other than the connections and wealth.  If I had to guess it is a mixture of both.  Just a terrible situation all the way around.

[auskip07 930]

Really hope he makes better choices with his life.   Hope he realizes how fortunate he is. 

[DAG 33,980]

28 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

This in a way reminds me of the "entitled affluenza" teen Ethan Couch if you remember his case.  For those not familiar, he was 16 when he killed four people driving under the influence.  He comes from a well-off family and his attorney claimed he was a victim of "entitled affluenza" and that argument won.  He got rehabilitation instead of jail time as the sentence.  While on probation he was photographed drinking at a party so he fled with his mother, where a manhunt ensued.

Sometimes if you come from a well-off family, it does not necessarily mean you pay enough attention to your children as you should as parents.  I am not sure who to blame though in this case as we don't know enough about his family other than the connections and wealth.  If I had to guess it is a mixture of both.  Just a terrible situation all the way around.

it’s called affluenza and it was a baseless theory. So baseless it is not recognized by the APA’s DSM. Mind you , couch still had issues following simple instructions after this such as staying in line with his probation , even to the point of becoming a fugitive. Also,to add to this, he turned himself in for this because he knew the consequences. So why did he do that, if he had Affluenza? The whole point of Affluenza was that his parent's did not set limits, so he has no true understanding of right from wrong? 

Edited April 30, 2021 by DAG

[abw0004 10,110]

7 minutes ago, DAG said:

it’s called affluenza and it was a baseless theory. So baseless it is not recognized by the APA’s DSM. Mind you , couch still had issues following simple instructions after this such as staying in line with his probation , even to the point of becoming a fugitive. 

Oh I am with you for sure on that.  I think why that case became so famous was that the excuse for Ethan's actions was so dumb everyone was up in arms it won over the case.  The second paragraph of my post was not defending the "entitled affluenza."  It was separate from the first if I caused confusion in my wording.

Strangely, the series of events is strongly familiar to this one, even down to both teens continuing their ways after the initial arrest.  That is why I brought it up initially.

Edited April 30, 2021 by abw0004

[DAG 33,980]

Just now, abw0004 said:

Oh I am with you for sure on that.  I think why that case became so famous was that the excuse for Ethan's actions was so dumb everyone was up in arms it won over the case.  The second paragraph of my post was not defending the "entitled affluenza."  It was separate from the first if I caused confusion in my wording.

Strangely, the series of events is strongly familiar to this one, even down to both teens continuing their ways after the initial arrest.

Yeah, this is called accommodation. Unfortunately, this young man seems to be heading down this same path.

[abw0004 10,110]

9 minutes ago, DAG said:

So why did he do that, if he had Affluenza? The whole point of Affluenza was that his parent's did not set limits, so he has no true understanding of right from wrong? 

My apologies, it looks like I jumped the gun in responding while you were still editing your post.  Honestly, I think the teens in both cases just simply thought and may even still think they are invincible.  That the rules do not apply to them and there is always a way out.  This is where, in my opinion, the parents should have stepped in and made them understand at a young age this is not the case.

[DAG 33,980]

Just now, abw0004 said:

My apologies, it looks like I jumped the gun in responding while you were still editing your post.  Honestly, I think the teens in both cases just simply thought and may even still think they are invincible.  That the rules do not apply to them and there is always a way out.  This is where, in my opinion, the parents should have stepped in and made them understand at a young age this is not the case.

But whose to say this person parent’s didn’t do that? And even if they don’t do that , accountability still must be had and that’s the problem, even the legal system failed in doing that. Usually when you see serious issues of non limit setting or accommodation , it will produce diagnosable OCD, anxiety , ODD and/or Reactive attachment disorder. However, even when child and adolescent do have these disorders we can still distinguish if this is due to the disorder or if this is just a behavioral issue . Additionally , even if they do have this disorder , accountability is still had and it is a reinforcing factor in both CBT and DBT features when they go through therapy. We need to be very careful in trying to rationalize why accountability  should not be had. Because in the psych world , we don’t blame behaviors on the disorder. It might influence it, but it is not blamed for It. I think society needs to understand that. 

 

[cbo 7,843]

1 hour ago, keesler said:

I'm harsh where this is concerned, so I'm not saying you are wrong.

I find it hard to give the parents the benefit of the doubt when they allowed him to drive again shortly after the accident and he not only racked up one but TWO excessive speeding tickets.  The kid killed two innocent people with an automobile and he's allowed to go on driving to the point where he gets two more tickets?  He attended alcohol/drug rehab so he had to go through the treatment plan with counseling, group sessions, etc.

He went through alcohol/drug monitoring and failed the piss tests very recently.  WTH?  IMO that's careless parenting any way I look at it.

Fair points. I think we all agree there is no way this kid should have been driving after the accident. Parents should take away car and courts should take away license for an incredibly long time. 

[oracle79 3,569]

Anyone remember the "Affluenza" defense for the teen in Fort Worth. Basically said it wasn't his fault because his family's wealthy and he never was taught right from wrong or responsibility for his actions. He got a minimal sentence. Here's the most recent stuff I could find on him. His mom obviously has issues also. Sounds like a similar case but who knows.

https://apnews.com/article/be8a8649740c50f200def0245a9d960a

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who used “affluenza” as a defense at his trial for killing four people while driving drunk was arrested Thursday after authorities say he violated the terms of his probation.

Ethan Couch, 22, was booked into a jail in Fort Worth after he tested positive for THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, court records show...

[abw0004 10,110]

2 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

Anyone remember the "Affluenza" defense for the teen in Fort Worth. Basically said it wasn't his fault because his family's wealthy and he never was taught right from wrong or responsibility for his actions. He got a minimal sentence. Here's the most recent stuff I could find on him. His mom obviously has issues also. Sounds like a similar case but who knows.

https://apnews.com/article/be8a8649740c50f200def0245a9d960a

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who used “affluenza” as a defense at his trial for killing four people while driving drunk was arrested Thursday after authorities say he violated the terms of his probation.

Ethan Couch, 22, was booked into a jail in Fort Worth after he tested positive for THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, court records show...

 

2 hours ago, abw0004 said:

This in a way reminds me of the "entitled affluenza" teen Ethan Couch if you remember his case.  For those not familiar, he was 16 when he killed four people driving under the influence.  He comes from a well-off family and his attorney claimed he was a victim of "entitled affluenza" and that argument won.  He got rehabilitation instead of jail time as the sentence.  While on probation he was photographed drinking at a party so he fled with his mother, where a manhunt ensued.

Sometimes if you come from a well-off family, it does not necessarily mean you pay enough attention to your children as you should as parents.  I am not sure who to blame though in this case as we don't know enough about his family other than the connections and wealth.  If I had to guess it is a mixture of both.  Just a terrible situation all the way around.

 

[AU9377 4,928]

On 4/29/2021 at 4:32 PM, keesler said:

He not only took two innocent people's lives, he proceeded to rack up 2 speeding tickets after the deaths and damned if he didn't fail alcohol tests while out on bond recently.  SMDH what a idiot his parents have raised. 

He had to take a drug screen as a condition to his bond weekly.  There was one test for alcohol, not that he was intoxicated when he took the test, but that there had been some consumption.  He claimed it was from allergy medication, which the judge looked at and accepted.

[AU9377 4,928]

2 hours ago, abw0004 said:

 

 

This had nothing to do with his family, although it is extended family, having some wealth and means. The local DA charged him as an adult, which clearly shows no favorable treatment.  The local judges recused themselves and, as required by law, the State Supreme Court appointed a senior judge from Dothan to hear the case.