‘Affluenza’ teen needs to face consequences: Your Say

Ethan Couch, 18, and his mother, Tonya Couch, were caught in Mexico on Dec. 28. He killed four in a 2013 drunken driving crash and was sentenced to probation, not prison. Letter to the editor:

I thought I had heard it all until I read about Ethan Couch, who suffered from “affluenza” because his wealthy parents coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility. He killed four people and injured several others driving while drunk at age 16 in 2013.

Are you kidding me? He and his mother, Tonya Couch, need to be locked up in prison so they can think about what they have done. The two attended the equivalent of a going-away party, authorities said, before they fled to Mexico after Ethan Couch allegedly violated his probation by drinking and playing beer pong, which further adds insult to the victims and their families.

Do you think mother and son are concerned or feel remorse for the victims? Hardly, and I hope Ethan Couch is tried as an adult and both he and his mother get the maximum amount of time in prison.

Russ W. Bill; Fountain Valley, Calif.

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Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

The people who came up with his excuse of suffering from affluenza, and the one who accepted it as an excuse, should spend jail time with him. It insults our intelligence.

— John Hart

His mother should know better. He’s a troubled teen and needs to go to jail. He killed four human beings, and then has the nerve to mess up again.

— Lupe Miramontes Becerra

In the long run, the mother has harmed him instead of helping him. Giving him an arrogant belief that money can buy anything is not being a good mother. She is likely just showing her own inclinations and attitude!

— Ralph Hill

He has really aged since we saw his face in the news a few years ago when he killed those people. That judge did him no favors by giving him only probation. He would’ve been healthier if he had spent time in jail away from his screwed-up family.

— Carlos Aguilar

If he knew enough to flee to Mexico, then he knew what he had done was wrong. That throws the affluenza hypothesis right out the window. It isn’t that his parents didn’t teach him any values. They just taught him the wrong ones, which is fine, just not a valid defense.

— Ed Fuller

Never mind. His lawyers will have him in his home living free before Valentine’s Day. Typical rich people making a joke out of this country’s laws.

— Robert Rhames

Couch missed a parole officer meeting, and there is no proof he was drinking at the party. He also has a team of lawyers. They are going to say he went on vacation with his parent. All the rest is just hype.

— Tom Lindemann