18 U.S.C. § 229A — Penalties

(a) Criminal Penalties. Anyone who violates the chemical weapons ban in section 229 can be fined, imprisoned for any number of years, or both. If the violation causes someone else's death, the punishment is death or life in prison. (b) Civil Penalties. The Attorney General can also sue a violator in federal district court. If the government proves the violation by a preponderance of the evidence — meaning it is more likely than not true — the violator can be ordered to pay a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per violation. This civil penalty does not stop the government or anyone else from also pursuing other criminal, civil, or administrative remedies. (c) Reimbursement of Costs. Anyone convicted under subsection (a) must reimburse the United States for expenses it incurred seizing, storing, handling, transporting, and destroying or otherwise disposing of the property involved in the crime. If more than one person is ordered to pay these costs for the same expenses, each of them is fully responsible for the whole amount, together with the others (called being "jointly and severally liable").