'Affluenza Teen' Ethan Couch Released From Jail After Only Two Years Behind Bars

Ethan Couch, known for his "affluenza" defense in his deadly drunk driving case, was released from a Texas jail early Monday morning April 2, 2018.

Couch, 20, first gained attention when he was sentenced to just probation for a drunken driving crash in 2013 that killed four people and seriously injured two others.

At the time, a psychologist blamed the teen's irresponsibility on his family's wealth, dubbing it "affluenza."

Prosecutors in that case sought 20 years in jail, but a juvenile court sentenced him to 10 years of probation instead, avoiding time behind bars.

That probation was revoked in 2016, and he was eventually sent to jail, after he attended a party where alcohol was served, then fled to Mexico with his mother to avoid punishment.

As for his mom, Tonya Couch, is in jail awaiting trial on charges of hindering apprehension of a felon and money laundering. Fred Couch, Ethan's father, was sentenced in December 2016 to a year's probation for falsely identifying himself as a peace officer. He has not commented publicly on his son's release.

The group Mothers Against Drunk Driving issued a statement calling Couch's short stint in jail "a grave injustice to the victims and their families who have been dealt life sentences because of one person's devastating decision to drink and drive."

As part of Couch's current probation, he will be required to wear an ankle monitor, an alcohol detecting patch, submit to drug testing, abide by a 9 p.m. curfew and have a video interlock ignition device installed in his vehicle.