Jupiter divers who freed sharks from fishing line may have their theft convictions overturned
WEST PALM BEACH — Two divers’ decision to release sharks from a government-sanctioned fishing line ignited a fierce debate over whether they were Good Samaritans or shameless thieves. Public outcry pushed the debate from internet chatrooms to a federal courthouse, where jurors decided the latter was true, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Almost two years later, the debate is playing out again in an appeals court where three judges have the power to overturn the divers’ felony convictions for theft on the high seas. Their decision hinges on what it means to steal, and whether it can be done selflessly.
“When you’re taking property to resolve an emergency — a life-or-death emergency, which the appellants were doing in this case — that is not stealing,” Assistant U.S. Public Defender Andrew Adler said during a hearing in Miami this month.