"Affluenza"

He was sixteen, driving at three times the legal limit for alcohol with two friends in the back of his pickup truck. After he crashed, there were four people dead and nine wounded. This was not the first time he'd driven drunk nor was it the first time he'd been in trouble with the law. Prosecutors wanted the maximum penalty of twenty years and with this teen's history, they thought he'd at least be taught a lesson. But during the trial, a doctor was able to convince the Texas judge that this teen suffered from "Affluenza," or the effects of having no parental guidance or boundaries due to his parent's wealth therefore needing rehab instead of restitution and jail time...and the judge agreed. So now the teen is being held until the 'proper' rehab center can be located while four of his victims lie in their final resting place. The news reported that "Rich Dad" wants to place the teen in a 5-star resort facility in California because they "don't allow cell phones in the suites or their gourmet dining areas" at a cost of four hundred thousand a year.

We know of cases where women were deemed "too pretty to go to jail" and that rich people get treated differently by society and the legal system but now we have a pseudo-diagnosis of being too rich for jail and a name for it: Affluenza. It was explained like this:

         "Affluenza is the result of wealth. Your parents are so busy buying you things, taking you places and seeing to it that you are experiencing only the best that they aren't able to give you the proper guidance, teach you right from wrong and/or set boundaries. They do not have the ability to tell their children, 'No.' Because of their wealth, they are unable to follow through on punishments or make their child suffer any sort of consequences. Therefore the child is an abused child and needs treatment instead of incarceration." As stated before, the judge agreed.

Four lives gone and nine others will forever suffer the consequences of this teen's actions while he never did--according to the 'justice' system. The judge reportedly claimed, "No punishment will bring any of the victims back, the focus must be on the living...the teen." Wealth has prevented any further actions or appeals at this 'sentence' while the judge prepares for her impending retirement.