Prison Sentences for Egg Company Executives is Constitutional

Prison sentences handed to two egg company executives due to negligently allowing their farms to poison thousands of customers is not unconstitutional

United States v. DeCoster, 2016 BL 216013, 8th Cir., No. 15-1890, 7/6/16.

   After poisoning thousands of consumers, the Eighth Circuit ruled that prison sentences handed to two egg company executives did not violate their Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The prosecutors, under a provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), sought criminal penalties against the executives of two large egg companies for being negligent in creating “the conditions which gave rise to the charges against them.”

   The defendants argued that they were improperly sentenced because they did not have knowledge that their eggs contained salmonella. The court, however, responded by stating the statute does require the defendants “to have known that they violated the FDCA to be subject to the statutory penalties.” The court also rejected arguments that the sentences were disproportionate to the crime. The court held, “When defining the statutory penalties in the FDCA, Congress recognized the importance of placing the burden on corporate officers to protect consumers ‘who are wholly helpless' from purchasing adulterated food products which could make them ill.”

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/United_States_v_DeCoster_No_151890_No_151891_2016_BL_216013_8th_C.