By HANNAH ROLLINS – Viewpoints Writer
Lady Justice may be blind, but she certainly recognizes wealth.
Dec. 10, 2013, a day two at Clarke Central High School, should have been a day like any other. Except it was not. On this day, 16-year-old Ethan Couch of Texas was sentenced to a $450,000 rehabilitation center in California for killing four people. This unusually light punishment was a direct result of Couch’s extreme wealth.
On June 15, 2013, In Tarrant County, Texas, Couch drove a Ford F-350 with seven people in his car, two of whom were in the bed of his truck. Couch was highly intoxicated and had hints of the drug Valium in his bloodstream.
During that time, 24-year-old Brianna Mitchell’s car broke down on Burleson-Retta Road. Fifty-two-year-old Hollie Boyles, her 21-year-old daughter Shelby Boyles as well as 41-year-old youth pastor Brian Jennings went outside to assist Mitchell.
Unfortunately, the two stories collided. Couch slammed into the four people on the side of the road, killing them all. As for his passengers, two of them suffered immensely. One received internal injuries as well as serious external ones and the other was paralyzed from head to toe.
Couch should have received 20 years in jail, but he is extremely wealthy. So what was his punishment for the massacre he was solely responsible for?
Probation for 10 years.
The concept of someone, especially a teen, receiving probation seems like a great idea. Not only does this person learn their lesson, but they could try to redeem themselves and become a law-abiding citizen. But not every person gets the chance to go to probation instead of straight to the jailhouse.
Especially the type of probation Couch received.
According to the 2010 census, 34.9 percent of Athens-Clarke County residents are below the poverty level. Nationally, anyone who makes under $16,836 a year is considered to be living beneath the poverty level. People below that 34.9 percent cannot afford to pay for a $450,000 rehabilitation center to turn their lives around like Ethan Couch could.
Society says that it has overcome social inequality.
Society says that we are all equal in the eyes of justice.
Society is lying to itself, and it’s time we open our eyes and realize that the land of the free and equal is not so equal after all.
Couch never learned the lesson he should have learned. Rather, Couch affirmed what he already knew. Couch learned that people like him get the upper hand in everything, and all of the people who are not filthy rich and commit horrible crimes get thrown into jail.
This case was simply about money and privilege. It revolves around the belief that if you have more, you get less punishment.
The issue is not the fact that Couch received probation, the real problem is that people of other socioeconomic backgrounds would not receive the same punishment.
Within our justice system, the acknowledgment of money should be abandoned as soon as a crime is committed. A universal punishment should be given to all Americans, regardless of their wealth. While that may sound simplistic in concept, it will take a lot of work. The first thing that has to be done before everyone is equal in the law is to raise awareness of this issue.
The line is drawn here, on Couch’s unfair sentencing.
