"Affluenza" Defense Fugitive Caught in Mexico

This was a case that really shook me out of my naivete. Being a law-and-order sort of guy, I tended to believe the system worked and that the people working in it were mostly upstanding.

Then, a rich 16 year old, who got drunk and killed four people in a car crash, got off from doing any jailtime and all by pleading the "affluenza" defense-- that the kid had been raised so rich and spoiled he had a diminished capacity to tell right from wrong. And that, somehow, this was a defense to his crime, rather than simply being the reason for it, and this was then said to reduce his culpability, rather than, as most people would say, increasing it.

So, a kid has all the advantages in life, and gets to live like a prince, and when he gets 0.24 BAC drunk and kills four people, his one-in-a-million good fortune is a pretext to shower him with even more favors and indulgences?

This wasn't a soft jury that got conned. This was a judge who let the kid out of jail because his parents were too rich.

At this point, I suddenly had a sick feeling: Oh wait, when they show in movies that judges are corrupt, they're not making that up, are they?

So this rotten drunken monster, who's now 18, got to live the soft life some more after killing four people. He violated the terms of his probation -- what a shock -- by getting drunk again.

From Maetenloch's ONT from a couple of weeks back, a video showed the kid drinking during beer pong, which is a violation of the terms of his parole -- no drinking, no drugs, no driving.

And the fact that he was violating his probation couldn't even be covered up with some money, because someone narked him out in a Tweet, with video.

Rather than face the music manfully, the kid, and his mother, who I assume is Cersei Lannister, went on the lam.

The pair was caught in the resort of Puerto Vallarta, a venue so idyllic that the Love Boat made frequent stops there. *

Now detained by Mexican police, we are all left hoping that the Mexican police turn out to be less corruptible than the American ones.

And that this time, assuming the Mom and her drunken 18 year old killer baby, will actually get a judge willing to put the couple in jail.

* I looked this up, and it seems the reason the Love Boat made frequent stops in Puerto Vallarta is that the line ran from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta (and back).

So... not just a stop, but the actual destination every week.

And If This Makes You Mad... I'm being told there's a documentary series on Netflix called "Making a Murderer" that will make you even more insane.

Which is hard to believe, but I'm told that that story is even worse than the Affluenza kid.

Note: I haven't actually seen the documentary and until 20 minutes ago had never even heard of it. I cannot vouch for it either way. I'm just passing along a recommendation someone sent me.

posted by Ace at 02:22 PM

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