Judge Jean Boyd sentenced 16-year-old Texan Ethan Couch to 10 years of probation after he killed four people and paralyzed one while driving drunk in 2013. His defense claimed Couch was a victim of “affluenza,” meaning his wealthy upbringing kept him from knowing the difference between right and wrong.
[Affluenza: Is a Double Standard for the Affluent Inevitable?]
Many citizens were outraged upon learning the sentencing — more than 33,000 people signed a petition to have Judge Boyd removed from the bench. In 2004, when she was presented with a 16-year-old Eric Bradlee Miller, who drove a pickup truck while drunk and killed one person, Boyd sentenced Miller to 20 years in prison. According to the Star-Telegram, Miller was “a troubled teen whose mother was a drug addict and was being raised by his grandfather.” When then-Governor of Texas Rick Perry was presented with the petition to remove Judge Boyd from the bench, no action was taken. Judge Boyd officially retired in December 2014. The granddaughter of the former Mayor of Forth Worth, Jack Garrison (1955-57), she is married to a wealthy dentist, John Boyd. ABC 20/20 will air its investigation and reveal recently obtained, never-before-seen deposition tapes of Couch on October 16 (9pm).
