The anti-drunk driving advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving wants 30,000 people to join it in demanding that “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch’s case be moved from juvenile to adult court.
The group launched a petition Monday calling for a case transfer, saying such a move would ensure Couch is held accountable for killing four in a drunk driving accident. Couch’s attorneys infamously argued the teen was privileged to completely understand right from wrong and thus should not have to suffer the consequences of his actions. Couch received 10 years of probation for four counts of intoxicated manslaughter.
“Couch is not a child. His actions are not that of a child,” MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Churchsaid in a statement. “Four people were killed and several injured, and Couch continues to show no remorse and blatant disregard for the law.”
MADD is asking for the signatures by Jan. 19 so that the prosecutor in the case has them on hand before a transfer hearing scheduled for the same day. The group says if he is transferred to adult court ensures “his probation extends beyond his 19th birthday in April 2016.”
The saga of the so-called “affluenza teen” has continued to make headlines since the crash and subsequent court case. The teen and his mother were apprehended after fleeing to Mexico amid an investigation into whether the teen violated his probation.
- What a Photographer Saw in the West Bank
- The Dirty Secrets of Alternative Plastics
- Accenture’s Chief AI Officer on Why This Is a Defining Moment
- We Should Get Paid for Our Online Data: Column
- Inside COP28's Big 'Experiment'
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2023
- The Top 100 Photos of 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
