@Add1152000
I'm surprised nobody seems to care just what kind of crime they were committed for.
It's kind of a big deal 😅
That said, it's very possible the prince specially selected the people he sent to the surface.
Not to mention, we know literally n nothing about the legal system of the mermaids.
For all, we know they could have been guilty of stealing some endangered clamshells for research purposes and got the death penalty for poaching.