Kendall Coffey Slams the "Affluenza" Defense

Kendall Coffey on News Nation

Last week, Tamron Hall invited Kendall Coffey onto News Nation on MSNBC to discuss the latest high profile case in Texas, that of Ethan Couch.  The teenager is from a rich family and used his priviliged upbringing as a defense for killing four people in a drunk driving incident.  The judge sentenced him to ten years of probation and no jail time.

Kendall Coffey asserted that the defense was "appalling" and the case made the entire justice system look bad.  He further insisted that if "affluenza" is an actual condition, then it can be treated with fairness and accountability.  That would include jail time in this case.

Ethan Couch's lawyer told the media that taking Ethan away from his family for rehabilitation was the punishment that the teenager deserved.

Attorney Scott Brown said, "The consequences are that he is taken away from his family, he’s taken away from all the things that he’s been given.  He’s not going to have the truck to drive, he’s not going to have all the other things that he’s used to.  He’s not going to going to have his Xbox, he won’t have alcohol or drugs.  We are taking him away from his family and teaching him to be a responsible citizen, that’s a consequence."

The reply from Kendall Coffey was rich with sarcasm. 

"I’m grief stricken.  No Xbox? I’ll tell you how to keep someone if he needs to be somewhat removed from his parents- prison will do that."

Kendall Coffey continued, "And I want to come back to something you just mentioned.  What about a poor child who through no fault of his or her own is a victim of abuse, lives in a community that is fraught with peril, and makes some mistakes in life.  Does the system forgive you for that? There’s hardly any forgiveness at all. I’m sorry Tamron, but the contrast is just so dramatic, between rich and poor, as illustrated by this case."