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Evan Couch, a 19-year-old known as the "affluenza" teen, was sentenced to two years in jail on Wednesday [1], according to the Associated Press. Couch was convicted of killing four people in 2013 in Texas as a result of drunk driving.
At the time, he was tried in juvenile court and his lawyer argued Couch grew up wealthy and privileged, and thus had no sense of right from wrong — a term coined as "affluenza," which drew much outrage. Couch got 10 years probation.
After video surfaced last December appearing to show him at a party with alcohol and violating his probation, he and his mother Tonya fled to Mexico [2]. They were found later that month by authorities in Puerto Vallarta; he's been in custody ever since and she has been charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon.
On Wednesday, the judge ordered Couch to 720 days in jail — amounting to 180 days for each of the four people he killed. Many on Twitter disagreed with the punishment.
WOW they only gave the "affluenza" dude from Texas 2 years 😐😐😐😐😐😐
— Stacy chambers (@Stoudemires_Son) April 13, 2016 [3]
'Affluenza' guy kills 4 violates parol fled 2 mexico and judge gives him 2 yrs? Judge Salvant r u serious? #EthanCouch [4]
— Carlos (@dc4l_family) April 13, 2016 [5]
The #AffluenzaTeen [6] was sentenced to jail, probably because his parents weren't rich enough to give him really bad Affluenza #MoneyProblems [7]
— Sanjay (@That_Sanjay_Guy) April 13, 2016 [8]
Couch was driving a pickup truck when he crashed into people on the side of the road who were helping a stranded motorist, according to the AP. The victims included the motorist, a youth minister who had pulled over, and a mother and daughter who lived nearby. Police said his blood alcohol level was three times the limit and that he had traces of Valium in his system.
Couch will be back in two weeks, at which point the judge can change the length of his sentence. A Mothers Against Drunk Driving director told Dallas News reporter Naheed Rajwani that "this is a small victory [9]," but that there is no winning in the case for the victims.