Yellowstone's "Zone of Death": The Lawless Land

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20 May 2024

A 50-square-mile region of US' Yellowstone National Park dubbed as "Zone of Death" has captured the imaginations of true crime enthusiasts

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There's a popular myth that it is the one place in the United States where someone could get away with a crime, even a murder

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That's because of a poorly-written law and a overlooked constitutional provision that some lawmakers call a "massive loophole"

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The 6th Amendment of the Constitution states that federal crimes must be prosecuted under the state and district in which they were committed

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The entirety of Yellowstone is under the US District of Wyoming – including the Zone of Death

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So, if you commit a crime in the Zone of Death, you'd only be able to prosecute that person using the population of people who live in that 50 miles

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Now, it would be impossible to draw a Wyoming jury from within 50 miles because no one lives there. An accused could exploit this loophole to walk away scot-free

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The loophole was first pointed out by Michigan State law professor Brian Kalt in his 2005 Georgetown Law Journal article, "The Perfect Crime"

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He believes that the government could simply pass a law placing Idaho's portions of Yellowstone inside the District of Idaho

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However, 19 years after he published his paper, nothing has been done to change the law and fix the loophole despite his efforts

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Thankfully, no known felonies have been committed in the Zone of Death since Mr Kalt's discovery

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