MADD launches petition to move Ethan Couch’s case to adult court

Mothers Against Drunk Driving launched a petition Monday demanding that Ethan Couch’s case be moved to adult court.

“Couch has been found, and everything possible must be done to hold him accountable and to ensure that Couch has no more victims,” MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Church stated in a news release about the petition. “Couch is not a child. His actions are not that of a child. Four people were killed and several injured, and Couch continues to show no remorse and blatant disregard for the law.”

The organization is seeking 30,000 signatures to provide to prosecutors before to a Jan. 19 hearing in which the Tarrant County district attorney’s office is seeking to have the teen’s case moved from juvenile court to the adult court system.

Couch, 18, is accused of violating his 10-year probation sentence he received for driving drunk and killing four people in a December 2013 wreck.

He and his mother fled to Mexico to avoid his capture but were arrested Dec. 28.

Tonya Couch has since been returned to Tarrant County, where she is charged with hindering apprehension and remains in the Tarrant County Jail with her bail set at $1 million. A bond reduction hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Ethan Couch remains held in Mexico, where attorneys there are fighting his transfer back to the United States.

The petition states that “Couch is no child” and that “his actions are not that of a child.”

“The nation has watched with anger and disdain as Couch continues to show blatant disregard for the law,” the petition states. “The families impacted will never have their loved ones back. Couch must be treated like the adult he is. Join us to fight affluenza. No more excuses. No more chances. No more victims.”

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "MADD launches petition to move Ethan Couch’s case to adult court."