Affluenza Research Paper

Have you ever wondered what makes a criminal commit countless crimes? Or maybe you haven’t put to much thought into it? Though everyone is responsible for their own actions, what if the criminal isn’t even considered an adult? What about the minors sitting in Juvenile Detention Centers? What about the minors sitting in adult prisons? What about them? Children still in the care of their parents or other guardians. It brings up the question of if parents/guardians should be held accountable for the child's behavior. Let’s look at the responsibility of parents. Besides the basics of a home and food ect, the overall job of a guardian or parent is to raise the child in loving and caring environment, and to show them the differences between right
One that stands out amongst the rest is the case of the “affluenza teen” who had killed four people and injured two while driving drunk. Ethan Couch had been described as being a “victim” of affluenza, which isn’t some terminal disease, nor is it anything like depression. Affluenza is defined as “the unhealthy and unwelcome psychological and social effects of affluence (having great wealth) regarded especially as a widespread societal problem” according to merriam-websters’ dictionary. Affluenza appears in the wealthy, usually happens to lottery winners or people who have suddenly acquired a large sum of money. However it was different for the sixteen you old Ethan Couch who was born into wealth, and whos’ parents hadn’t set any boundaries for him. The court gave him a soft sentence of ten years on probation and attending a rehab. Now, if you thought that helped little Mr.Richy Rich, you are wrong. Ethan later violated his probation by running off into Mexico with his mother. Now, these parents have done nothing to discipline their child, (the court didn’t really help either) who killed four innocent people. He took the life of a youth pastor, the life of a fathers’ little girl, took the mans’ wife as well. He had injured two of his own friends’, the accident leaving one paralyzed and unable to speak. His blood alcohol content was 0.24%, he caused so much damage, both property and emotionally. His parents did nothing, they helped him get out of the sticky predicament, that caused so much heart ache. His parents should be held accountable for his crimes, for not raising him properly and endangering the public with poor