INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

‘Affluenza’ Ethan Couch Moved To A Less Restrictive Prison In Texas

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 16:02 PST, May 22, 2016

Ethan Couch, best known for using the affluenza defense to get away with the manslaughter deaths and wounding of many innocent people in a small town in North Texas, is being moved to a new prison in Texas, and it is one that is not maximum security. Since Couch was arrested in Mexico, and returned to Texas, he has been in a cell by himself, and that is expected to remain the plan in his new prison, as it is not considered safe for him in the general population.

According to the Inquisitr, Ethan Couch is now to do at least two years in an adult prison after his case was moved from juvenile court. Couch will then spend approximately 10 years on probation, where he will have to avoid drugs and alcohol and stay out of trouble, something he has had a hard time doing thus far. Recently it was revealed that Ethan Couch and his parents, Tonya and Fred Couch, stuck the state of Texas with Ethan Couch’s rehab bill of $200,000.

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that moving Ethan Couch to a new prison will allow him to have less restrictions and more contact with other prisoners, though that will still be limited. Ethan Couch was in a maximum security prison in Tarrant County, and will now be in a less restrictive facility in the same area.

Couch is still considered a high-profile inmate, so he requires extra protection, because high profile criminals like Couch have a target on their backs, according to Sheriff Dee Anderson.

“We’re protecting him from any harm from any other inmate, and he understands that.”

This means that Couch spends 23 hours a day in a cell alone. Couch will now have access to a day room with a television. The day room is also connected to a gym. Couch is small in stature, and is considered an easy target in unsupervised situations.

“He will have limited access with other prisoners. We are monitoring that to see how that goes and how much we’re comfortable with that.”

CBS says that the order came in Tuesday that Ethan Couch was to be moved to a new prison in Texas to serve the rest of his two years. Terry Grisham, the prison spokesman, says that it is in no way under consideration to put Ethan Couch in with the general population, as overall sentiment is still that Couch was not punished harshly enough. Couch’s new facility is still fairly harsh, but it is not for the hardest of the hard.

“He went from a ten to a nine.”

There was outrage after Couch, 16 at the time of the crime, seemed to have gotten away with driving under the influence of alcohol and Valium, and killing several people. When Couch got caught violating his probation, he took off with his mother, Tonya Couch, for Mexico, angering the people of North Texas and the rest of the world, as Couch seemed to be thumbing his nose at the law.

The national CBS News says that Couch’s new prison will be less restrictive, but it is still a prison, and he will likely stay there for the remainder of his sentence. Ethan Couch has reportedly been in isolation since February 5, and has had little contact with other people. Couch has been visited by his half-brother and his half-brother’s wife, but his mother, Tonya Couch, cannot visit because she is under house arrest for fleeing the jurisdiction with son Ethan Couch prior to Christmas.

Ethan Couch, now 19, will remain in prison until he is at least 21, and he faces 10 more years if he violates probation.

Do you think that Ethan Couch deserves to be in the general population of the prison? Do you think Couch would be beaten up in the general prison population?

[Photo by LM Otero/AP Images]

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