The “death zone”, almost 130 square kilometers, could be the place of all crimes. Without possible punishment.
Everyone has probably seen “American Nightmare,” that series of movies in which one night a year, any crime, including murder, is not prosecuted. Well, you’ll be surprised to learn that reality has surpassed fiction. There is indeed a place in the United States where it is possible to commit a crime with complete impunity. And the worst part is that the government is perfectly aware of the situation, yet nothing is done to change it.
It is in Wyoming, a state known for its magnificent landscapes but also for being the first state in America to have banned many abortions, and which recently also wants to ban electric cars, that we find Yellowstone. This American natural park, the oldest in the world, is home to two thirds of the planet’s geysers, grizzly bears, wolves, and… the “death zone”. On a strip of land of just under 130 square kilometers, it would be possible to commit a crime without fear of being worried by the law. In any case, this is what an American law professor, Brian C. Kalt, discovered, who has since been pressuring the government to tackle this problem.
But is such a thing really possible? How can we explain this astonishing anomaly? In the United States, Yellowstone National Park is a unique case, because although it is part of the state of Wyoming, it extends over two other states, Montana and Idaho. However, when the park was created in 1872, it was decided that only the federal court for the district of Wyoming could judge crimes and misdemeanors committed within the park. Without realizing it, these decision-makers had just created an unprecedented legal vacuum. Their decision effectively stated the following: if a person commits a crime in Yellowstone, but in the areas of the park located in one of the other two states (Idaho or Montana), he must to be tried in Wyoming.
This is precisely where the problem lies. The US Constitution states that a crime must be tried in the state where it was committed. Add to that the 6th Amendment which provides that the accused must be tried by a jury composed of people living in the district where the crime took place, and that these two territories are completely uninhabited, this means: no trial, no conviction. For a malicious person, it is the perfect crime.
It should be noted, however, that no one has ever exploited this legal loophole and it is hard to believe that the American courts and federal governments would stand by and do nothing if someone tried this “perfect” crime. This legal loophole would undoubtedly be challenged or remedies devised to preserve the “spirit of the law”, which is that a person guilty of a specific offense or crime must be punished. Especially since in all three states, the death penalty is still in force.