Cruelty to seamen
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever, being the master or officer of a vessel of the United States, on the high seas, or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, flogs, beats, wounds, or without justifiable cause, imprisons any of the crew of such vessel, or withholds from them suitable food and nourishment, or inflicts upon them any corporal or other cruel and unusual punishment, shall be or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 800 (PDF, 39 MB); Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, §601(a)(8), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3498.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime for the master or an officer of a U.S. ship on the high seas or other waters under U.S. maritime jurisdiction to beat, wound, or wrongly confine crew members, deny them proper food, or punish them cruelly.