Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The words do not have to be perfect.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Everybody saw this coming.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Accountability, motherfuckers.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Bark louder, little dog.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You cannot shame the shameless.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Open Thread: Tiny Smidgen of Justice

Open Thread: Tiny Smidgen of Justice

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From the original CNN article:

Mexican authorities have detained so-called “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch and his mother near the popular Mexican Pacific beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta, officials briefed on the matter told CNN.

Couch, 18, went missing earlier this month, two years after he made national news when he was sentenced to probation for a drunken driving crash that killed four people.

Couch is expected to be turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service, who have spent weeks searching for him. A spokesman for the service declined to comment…

At the time of his conviction, prosecutors said Couch could be incarcerated up to 10 years for violating his probation terms.

Too bad the prosecutors probably won’t ding him with some of the ever-popular “being a nuisance to law enforcement” charges, though. (Yeah, that’s not the technical term, but y’all know exactly what I mean even if you’re not lawyers, either.)

Reader Interactions

65Comments

  2. 2.

    Suzanne

    OOOOH, I hope this little shit gets some awesome prison time. I would trade twenty nonviolent offenders to keep this fucker in jail for ten years or so.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    As it’s an Open Thread, shall recommend a nice slice of life movie I caught up with recently, White On Rice. Cute and just fun, with some real laughs in it. Felt better after watching it than did before.

    trailer

  11. 11.

    mclaren

    No, Anne, this guy’s crime was “driving while white.” To get summarily executed by a bunch of cops emptying their pistols and reloading 12 times or sent to prison for 30 years, you need to be guilty of driving while black.

  14. 14.

    peach flavored shampoo

    Can his mom be charged with anything? Aiding and abetting a parole jumper? Would be pretty funny if they BOTH ended up in the pokie together.

  20. 20.

    Cacti

    Tamir Rice was summarily executed for nothing, while this little shit got probation for killing 4 people.

    Justice, American style.

  23. 23.

    Suzanne

    I am cleaning out my closet. I am moving ever closer to the architecture-douche dream closet of 80% black things, 10% gray things, 5% white things, with the other 5% made up of the rare splash of bright orange or royal blue.

  27. 27.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    You have just described my architecture douche dream closet – and for the first time in my life, any clothing I received as gifts for Christmas or for my upcoming birthday have been black, with the exception of one pair of gray trousers. I can’t tell you how perfect I find this.

  33. 33.

    Yutsano

    So this guy was an acquaintance of mine from college. I knew he had moved to LA to pursue composition in film but I had no idea his career had received such a HUGE signal boost. Way. To. Go. Paul!

  38. 38.

    Amir Khalid

    @Suzanne:
    Probably not all of the ten years, since he’s a first offender. But a couple of years might suffice to make the point to him.

  42. 42.

    Rashi

    That was pretty quick. If anyone hasn’t seen the 2014 German film Phoenix do yourself a favor and see it.

  44. 44.

    Suzanne

    @Adam L Silverman: I am E, none of the above. I’m an architect, ergo, I wear mostly black. I even used to have the Corbusian-black-framed glasses.

    Seriously, architects are the least creative dressers around. Black black black gray black black black orange black black black. Makes it easy to get dressed and hide the cat hair.

  46. 46.

    Marc

    @Suzanne: @Gvg: Dito that question: How do you hide black cat hair. My previous kitty was black, but her fur was never the same shade of black of anything I owned. Now that I have Miri and the three Scaperbeasts (h/t Scalzi), I have more cat hair which will never match anything I own.

  47. 47.

    Mustang Bobby

    My flight from Cincinnati to Miami was cancelled after they couldn’t get a crew in to make the flight, so after a two-hour wait in line to re-book, I’m on a flight to Philadelphia connecting to a flight in Fort Lauderdale. Close enough for a friend to come get me. Unlike mechanical issues, the airline did not pay for my overnight stay at the Doubletree, but it’s better than stretching out at the gate (which I’ve done in my younger days).

    Anyway, see you when I get home.

  48. 48.

    Satby

    Going to my first day on the new job in an ice storm was just as much fun as you can imagine. Coming home was even better, by then there had been 7 hours of freezing rain so there was also flooded frozen roads. One minivan had gone at least 40 feet off the road and down an embankment into a field, though fortunately hadn’t rolled over so they were all fine. And just before my house a tree had come down and blocked the lane I was driving in. Hair-raising.
    I’m rethinking how much I hate Florida’s weather. A tiny bit.

  49. 49.

    Tommy T

    Now, in addition to serving time, he’ll have a Unauthorized Flight to Avoid Prosecution charge added (which is a Federal felony).

    Idiot.

  50. 50.

    NorthLeft12

    I guess his escape from a prison sentence did not teach him anything. You would like to think that this douchebag would have stopped and perhaps re-evaluated where his life was heading,

    But I guess at his level of douchebaggery and privilege that’s not how it works. He probably believes[and rightly so] that his family’s money and position will continue to protect him no matter what.
    I think he may be in trouble here because of how publicly he flaunted the terms of his probation, thus embarrassing the justice system that worked so hard for him to get that easy probation.

  52. 52.

    Gvg

    He should get the sentence that he would have gotten if his family hadn’t argued affluenza. It’s not his fault his lawyers pissed us off.
    The judge who “bought” that dumb argument should loose reelection and be investigated to see if he took bribes.
    His mom is now in trouble and that is likely fair as she does seem to have contributed to the original problem described by lawyer and helped him flee.
    Interesting that dad didn’t flee too. I wonder if he learned something.
    If we had a justice system that was well designed, he would have received counseling to actually correct the causes of his bad choices such as alcohol abuse and so would poor drunk drivers. We don’t though.

  53. 53.

    Brendan in Charlotte

    @efgoldman: you’re right. But it’s never stopped law enforcement from doing things like that. They heap a bunch of minor BS charges on top of the major charge. Then, they offer to dismiss all the minor charges as part of a “plea deal”.

  56. 56.

    Hungry Joe

    It’s shocking that none of you seems to realize that affluenza doesn’t just go away: It’s a serious, ongoing disorder that can re-emerge at any time. A new truck — say, an even-more upscale version of the one he was driving when he mowed down those four pedestrians — might go a long way toward healing the psychic wounds inflicted by his parents’ wealth. He’ll probably have to live with affluenza of some form or other for the rest of his life. Have some pity, for god’s sake.

  57. 57.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Suzanne: You know what goes with greys? pink. My winter wardrobe is pretty dull, lots of blues, blacks and greys. To add color to the sea of dullness that is my winter wardrobe, I rely on colorful silk scarves and long necklaces. I have quite of collection of bright silk scarves in traditional patterns from India.

    In summer my wardrobe is far more colorful and feminine, lots more skirts and dresses. Wear mostly jeans and pants in the winter, because tights just don’t cut it in subzero weather, which we sometimes get in Jan and Feb.

  61. 61.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    A complication in this case is that Couch was convicted as a juvenile, in juvenile court. The judge in her questionable wisdom sentenced him to 10 years probation. Given that juvenile system conviction, the extent of the court’s sentence is limited to time in a juvie facility until his 19th birthday – in 2016.

    The prosecutor already filed a motion to have probation transferred to adult court, and that motion is pending. I’ve not read the Texas escape/fleer/abscond statute, but given his current majority that charge could get him to adult court. Ma will (can) definitely face charges for assisting a fugitive. So there is possibility of actual prison time, but it will likely result from new charges rather than the probation violation. A clever juvenile judge would transfer the probation and get it off her desk, but my confidence in the sentencing judge is limited.

    /Not admitted to TX practice and all other disclaimers

  64. 64.

    Sad_Dem

    @NorthLeft12:

    his family’s money and position will continue to protect him

    It does seem that dad has lost patience. He cooperated with the police in finding the brat.

  65. 65.

    Sondra

    @Culture of Truth:
    Apparently being on probation and having to report in to a probation officer was too onerous. The Mommy dearest who raised this little sociopath will no doubt claim the same “Afluenza” defense and when she is put on probation for aiding and abetting a criminal will flee to Puerto Vallarta with the kid’s Grandmother.

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