NACDL - Overcriminalization Victim Abner Schoenwetter

Overcriminalization Victim Abner Schoenwetter - Case Summary

At the age of 64, Abner (“Abbie”) Schoenwetter is trying to start his life over again. He has been serving an 8-year sentence in federal prison for a seafood sales transaction. According to the U.S. government, a lobster catch Abbie had agreed to purchase violated three Honduran administrative regulations. The Honduran government filed a legal brief stating that the three regulations were invalid and unenforceable against Abbie and the three other persons charged by the U.S. in the case. The Attorney General of Honduras wrote to the U.S. Attorney General certifying that this was correct. How is it then that this hard-working small businessman with no criminal history was convicted of multiple felonies and sentenced to 97 months in federal prison?