Prosecutors in Texas are trying for a second time to imprison 16-year-old Ethan Couch who was sentenced last week to 10 years probation for driving drunk his truck into four pedestrians, which killed all of them, The Associated Press reported.
"During his recent trial, the 16-year-old admitted his guilt in four cases of intoxication manslaughter and two cases of intoxication assault. There has been no verdict formally entered in the two intoxication assault cases. Every case deserves a verdict," Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon emailed to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
District Judge Jean Boyd gave Couch 10-year probation last Tuesday after a sentencing hearing in which his attorneys argued that he suffered from "affluenza," a term coined by one witness, which describes having wealthy parents caused him to act in an irresponsible manner in life. Prosecutors had ask for a maximum prison 20-year sentence. The maximum allowable sentence in Counch's intoxication would be three years in a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility, according to news reports.
"Couch's blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit and there were traces of Valium in his system when he lost control of his pickup, plowing into a group of people helping a woman whose car had stalled. Seven passengers were riding in Couch's truck. In addition to Molina, Solimon Mohmand suffered numerous broken bones and internal injuries.
Defense attorneys had requested a lengthy probationary term at a costly rehabilitation facility in California, promising that Couch's parents would foot the bill. During sentencing, Boyd said he might not get the kind of intensive therapy in a state-run program that he could receive at the California facility," according to The AP.
