Unusual Criminal Defenses: The Affluenza Defense

A 16-year-old boy from a well-to-do Fort Worth family commits a quadruple vehicular homicide. His attorneys will argue that his overprivileged upbringing resulted in him not knowing how to discern right from wrong. The term "affluenza" was coined to describe defendants like Ethan Couch - wealthy, spoiled and held unaccountable for their bad behavior. I'll also describe how this same defense was used in 1924 to defend the wealthy teenaged murderers Leopold and Loeb. #LeopoldandLoeb #CrimeoftheCentury #EthanCouch #Affluenza Resources: Manny Fernandez, Richard Perez-Pena and Azam Ahmed, The New York Times , "Ethan Couch, 'Affluenza' Teenager, Had Last Party Before Fleeing," Dec 29, 2015. Michael J. Mooney, D Magazine , "The Worst Parents Ever," May 2015. American Experience, PBS Television , "The Perfect Crime: Leopold and Loeb". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .