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This is where they went: http://www.salon.com/2013/12/17/more_proof_that_americas_prison_epidemic_is_a_complete_disaster_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/12/1

This is where they went: http://www.salon.com/2013/12/17/more_proof_that_americas_prison_epidemic_is_a_complete_disaster_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/12/17/more_proof_that_americas_pri... By and large, we made it illegal to be poor in the city.

rayiner 12y ago
That article triggered my "bullshit" detector: > In 2010, The Economist highlighted a case in which four Americans were arrested for importing lobster tails in plastic bags rather than in cardboard boxes. That violated a Honduran law which that country no longer enforces, but because it’s still on the books there its enforced here. “The lobstermen had no idea they were breaking the law. Yet three of them got eight years apiece.” When the article was published 10 years later, two of them were still behind bars. Yeah, that's a pile of shit: http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059964426 http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059964426. TL;DR version: they were arrested and convicted for importing over $15 million in illegal lobster tails. The plastic versus cardboard boxes issue is a red herring--it was the means by which they concealed the undersized tails, not the primary basis for prosecution. As for the Honduran law--the Court of Appeals determined that the Honduran law was in fact valid during the relevant time period. Moreover, the Lacey Act only criminalizes importing animals harvested in violation of a foreign law when the importer knows or should know about the law. The prosecution proved that the defendants took measures to conceal the undersized tails and evade inspectors.
- tptacek 12y ago
  They also at times routed their lobster tails through Canada to avoid detection --- for lobsters sourced in the jurisdiction of Honduras and destined for Alabama. People love to fixate on the "undersized lobster" part of this story, but that's an irrelevant detail. The important fact is that all fishermen were required to take lobsters under a specific set of rules, and report their compliance with those rules. This particular fisherman cheated the rest of the market by ignoring those rules. Nobody bats an eyelid when "banksters" are convicted and serve sentences† for violating rules far more abstract and far less connected to real-world consequences than overfishing regulations. † yes, this actually happens, probably more often than it does to fishermen

rayiner 12y ago

That article triggered my "bullshit" detector: > In 2010, The Economist highlighted a case in which four Americans were arrested for importing lobster tails in plastic bags rather than in cardboard boxes. That violated a Honduran law which that country no longer enforces, but because it’s still on the books there its enforced here. “The lobstermen had no idea they were breaking the law. Yet three of them got eight years apiece.” When the article was published 10 years later, two of them were still behind bars. Yeah, that's a pile of shit: http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059964426 http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059964426. TL;DR version: they were arrested and convicted for importing over $15 million in illegal lobster tails. The plastic versus cardboard boxes issue is a red herring--it was the means by which they concealed the undersized tails, not the primary basis for prosecution. As for the Honduran law--the Court of Appeals determined that the Honduran law was in fact valid during the relevant time period. Moreover, the Lacey Act only criminalizes importing animals harvested in violation of a foreign law when the importer knows or should know about the law. The prosecution proved that the defendants took measures to conceal the undersized tails and evade inspectors.

tptacek 12y ago
They also at times routed their lobster tails through Canada to avoid detection --- for lobsters sourced in the jurisdiction of Honduras and destined for Alabama. People love to fixate on the "undersized lobster" part of this story, but that's an irrelevant detail. The important fact is that all fishermen were required to take lobsters under a specific set of rules, and report their compliance with those rules. This particular fisherman cheated the rest of the market by ignoring those rules. Nobody bats an eyelid when "banksters" are convicted and serve sentences† for violating rules far more abstract and far less connected to real-world consequences than overfishing regulations. † yes, this actually happens, probably more often than it does to fishermen