Yellowstone National Park spans more than 3,400 square miles across Wyoming and Montana, and a small area of Idaho that is known as
the death zone
.
In this 50-square-mile zone there is a loophole in the Constitution that would allow someone, theoretically, to get away with any crime, including murder.
Under the Sixth Amendment, a person charged with a crime has the right to a jury called by the state and district where the crime was committed.
However,
the
death zone
is in a district without population and any criminal act could in theory be dismissed by a court of law
.
[These two young men went duck hunting in a Tennessee lake and were killed by a man. But he didn't get out of there alive either]
Investigators across the country have asked Congress to end this loophole by adding that land to the Wyoming district, but their lawsuits have been dismissed because they allege that the judicial system would "prevail" regardless of this void.
In Yellowstone there are traces of human passage from 11,000 years ago, as shown by archaeological finds, trails and oral histories.
The national park was founded in 1872, when only 37 of the 50 states existed (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho had not yet been created. The railroad arrived at the park in 1883, making it easier for visitors to access.
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Montana was the first to become a state in 1889, but its borders only cover 9% of Yellowstone.
Idaho was incorporated in July 1890 taking only the 50-square-mile strip, and Wyoming was established a week later, encompassing 96% of the park.
Under the Sixth Amendment, a crime committed in the District of Wyoming must summon a jury to the District of Wyoming.
And the same goes for Idaho and Montana.
If a murder occurs within the limits of the
death zone
and the murderer turns himself in and admits the crime, he can invoke the Sixth Amendment.
[They film elephants celebrating the snowfall in the Tucson desert]
This means that a jury will be made up of people from the state where the murder occurred, which is Idaho, and the federal district where it was committed.
However, the Wyoming District spans all of Yellowstone, including parts of Montana or Idaho.
This means that the killer is entitled to a jury made up of people who live in both Idaho and the District of Wyoming, who would be those who live in the Yellowstone part of Idaho.
The solution seems simple, but according to Brian Kalt, a Michigan state law professor, it's not easy.
"The jury would have to come from the Idaho part of Yellowstone National Park, which, according to the 2000 census, has a population of zero," he notes in a research article.
[Does the tuna sandwich have tuna? A lawsuit accuses Subway]
In the essay, Kalt shares that one solution would be to add the 50-square-mile land to Wyoming.
Mike Simpson, senator from Idaho, said that the judicial system would "prevail" in such a situation and there would be no plans for redistricting, according to Colorado State University.
"The best solution for the Yellowstone loophole is to close it, not pretend it's not there," Kalt said.
With information from the Daily Mail.