The Effect of Economic Status on Prison Sentence

The Effect of Economic Status on Prison Sentence

The world is entering a new century with new expectations to create more beautiful life and happiness. Globalization is spreading rapidly which has triggered a race for growth and economic development. So, the world’s economy has achieved rapid growth, but created a huge gap between social classes. The gap between the rich and poor is widening. Rich people have more opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, while the poor, have little access to ensure suffice living conditions. This is due to the fact that people of lower economic standing are too poor to be financially stable and lack knowledge from higher education. Therefore, social inequality is now becoming increasingly serious in which these injustices are now present in court and a person’s sentence affected by how rich they are.

There were two conflicting news stories that mentioned two teenagers from opposite economic backgrounds. One of them, Ethan Couch was born in a wealthy family; he killed four people due to driving under the influence of alcohol. These Samaritans were only doing a good deed by helping a woman who was stuck in traffic due to a flat tire. During the accident, Ethan Couch’s friend became paralyzed for the rest of his life. Couch then wanted to pay his way out of crime and offered his friend money to settle the case. Instead of serving jail time for killing four people, Ethan Couch was just sentenced to 10 years of probation and stint in rehab with fees to his friend’s family. On another hand, juvenile offender, Edel Gonzalez grew up in a poor family, and lacked care from his parents. Edel and his two friends attempted to steal a car and shot the driver. Then, he was later convicted of murder for the crime he committed and was sentenced to life without parole even though the person who shot the driver was not him. Despite his case was all unintentional, Gonzalez have served jail time with good behavior and was still denied a chance for retrial. To make a simple comparison, we can easily recognize that Edel Gonzalez’ sentence is more serious than Ethan Couch’s even though Couch’s case is more severe. This leads us to question factors that can influence a prison sentence, can a person’s economic status save them from serving a life sentence, and what extent of their economic status can help in this concerns.

From the article “Growing up in prison,” Elizabeth Calvin mentioned that Edel Gonzalez was raised in an environment defined through acts of violence and gangs. Edel followed his neighborhood’s ghetto stereotypes and became a gang member as early as 11 years old. Events such as childhood abuse and tragic losses have caused him to turn to alcohol as an answer to deal with pain. As deep as he was in gang life, other gang members served as father figures to Edel due to his father’s absence growing up. This shows that Edel Gonzalez did not have a happy family and dealt with insecure living conditions. He was fatherless and had a rough childhood. "Kids who come from disadvantaged backgrounds are pre-disposed to anti-social behaviors; the reason for crime is child poverty and discrimination." (MacRae online) Without a father, he lacked guidance his whole life and if convicted of the crime, he may be isolated from family members due to the sentence of life without parole. This will greatly jeopardize his opportunities for freedom because he will be stripped from an opportunity for a good lawyer and chances to integrate back to society.

From the article "Affluenza: Is it real" by Ashley Hayes, we found that Ethan Couch was a killer on the road, whom has taken 4 innocent lives while driving with blood alcohol level surpassing three times over the limit. Yet, Couch was only sentenced to 10 years of probation without jail time. Ethan Couch has defended that he is a victim himself. Couch’s lawyer constantly blame his parents for the exposure to the lavish lifestyle which made him oblivious to common sense. Due to him not being able to realize what’s right from wrong, psychologists diagnosed him with affluenza and automatically his crime was now his parents’ responsibility. "This is the product of wealthy privileged parents who never set limits for the boy" according to one psychologist. (Hayes online) Due to his affluenza infected environment, Ethan Couch has been swayed to think that the value of a person, or life, can be measured by money. Once Ethan Couch committed his offence, his parents definitely found the way to rescue him. They are, actually the cause of his “affuenza” behavior in which made him believe that money can certainly buy many forms of freedom. Actually, a very rich status can free people from a lot of annoyances and hazards, and enables individuals to greater dictate their lives. They might use the economic advantages through extensive relationships in society or by using money. The wealthy families can also change many things in their favor and in cases, can influence the judge's decision because of access to a good and expensive lawyer. Due to money being valued greatly in society, money can provide more power for people who has lots of it. From the two cases of Ethan Couch and Edel Gonzalez, the sentences for these minors have placed at the opposite ends of the spectrum. It is clear that a person’s economic status can influence their prison sentence due to their social connections and financial capabilities.

Towards the two cases mentioned above, even though these minors grew up in two different environments, they have the same problem of which they lack attention and concern from their families. This is a common problem in today's society, and as evidence to explain why the number of juvenile offenders is higher than before. Eden Gonzalez lives in a poor family, his parents did not pay enough attention to him. They also do not have enough financial resources to provide the things that he wants such as car, money or the other things. So he tried to find ways to get those things illegally. In addition, Eden Gonzalez grew up in poorer surroundings where he was often exposed to crime and faced a greater likelihood to be undereducated. Therefore these temptations led him to the path of crime. On the other hand, Ethan Couch lives in a rich family; his parents do not suffer financially, meaning that they are able to afford to give him everything he wants without any limitations. The leniency of Ethan Couch's parents made him become a spoiled child present in his drinking and driving case when he was only 16 years old. Studies have shown that children with Affluenza are more vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse due to the amount of pressure put upon them along with the absence of parents. (Gregoire online) These results have led the children whom grow up in wealthy families like Ethan Couch’s become more susceptible to crime and contribute negatively to society as well.

Imprisonment can sometime be a fair form of punishment, but the concern is whether a minor should ever be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Back to the case of Edel Gonzalez, a person who was sentenced to life, was only 16 years old when convicted. At the age of 16, “the character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult. The personality traits of juveniles are more transitory, less fixed."(Kenedy online) Based on the reality of the Edel Gonzalez case, at the current age of 38, after 22 years in prison, his character has changed. He has become an adult and mentioned "I am a different person than I was then," he said. "I wish I could change the things I did. But I can try to live an upright life now, even here." When he spoke about his victim, he became overwhelmed. He turned away, hiding tears in shame. "I'd tell her, if I could … I'm sorry. I don't know how to give you my life. I would give you my heart if I could."(Calvin A13). He has grown up in prison not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. He understood his crime and expects to have a chance to compensate his guilt. Towards the case of Edel Gonzales, if there is no possibility of parole, it seems that his life would be one without hope and freedom. Human beings are always making the effort to create a civilized society in which people can tolerate and forgive. Minors themselves are not bad people; they are the “outcome” of a family’s education, socio-economic, psychological and environmental background. When they intentionally or unintentionally commit the crime, of course, they have to receive the punishment but in case they are rehabilitated and recognized as good, the lawmakers should give them a second chance to return to society if they no longer pose as threats. This action is considered as the encouragement for the prisoners to try to improve their behaviors and eliminate criminal behaviors throughout their teenage years.

From the two conflicting news stories above, we might see how money and power create the difference in judgment as well as the influence to people's lives in the society. It has widened the gap between the rich and poor. This gap is defined through an inequality in the justice system and has become an issue that can’t be overlooked. As society is developing with higher living standards, money has become more valuable. Modern society is a place where people need to have money to address the needs of life, thus gaining more money and using it a matter of necessity. Almost everything in life can be exchanged with money; it can even buy spiritual values such as power, fame, and now, freedom. Because money is an important component of survival, it is the cause of crime and illegal acts. The two instances of Eden Gonzalez and Ethan Couch are clear evidence to prove how the influence of economic status can affect the outcome of one’s life.

Works Cited

Calvin, Elizabeth. "Growing up behind Bars."Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

Gambino, Lauren. "Thrown in Jail for Being Poor." N.p., 2 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.

Gregoire, Carolyn. "How Money Changes The Way We Think And Behave."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.

Hayes, Ashley. "'Affluenza': Is It Real?"CNN. Cable News Network, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

Kennedy, Justice. "Excerpts From Opinions On Juvenile Death Penalty."The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Mar. 2005. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

MacRae, David. "THE ROOT CAUSES OF CRIME."THE ROOT CAUSES OF CRIME. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.

Prato, Tuscany.How To Turn A Child Offender Into An Adult Criminal – In 10 Easy Steps(n.d.): n. pag. 7 Sept. 2009. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.