Where is America's 'Zone of Death'? A closer look at the 50-square-mile area where you can get away with murder
A loophole in the Sixth Amendment has helped create a 50-square-mile area where anyone can get away with any crime, even murder. The area within Yellowstone National Park falls in Idaho and is popularly known as the ‘Zone of Death’.
How was the Zone of Death formed?
The 3400-square-mile wide Yellowstone National Park lies predominantly in Wyoming and Montana, but a 50-square-mile portion of the same borders the state of Idaho.
In 1872, when Yellowstone National Park was established, the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho were yet to come into existence. Montana, which comprises only 9% of the total area of the national park, was declared a state in 1889, and Idaho was established in 1890, followed by Wyoming a week later, containing 96% of the national park.
The District Court of Wyoming was established soon afterward, which placed Yellowstone under the Wyoming District. But, the District of Wyoming covers the entirety of the national park, including the parts in Idaho and Montana.
Therefore, in concurrence with the Sixth Amendment, for a crime committed in the District of Wyoming, a juror must be summoned from that district. Similarly, a crime in Idaho or Montana will necessitate the presence of a jury from these regions respectively.
What is the solution to Zone of Death?
If a crime is committed within the ‘Zone of Death’ in Idaho, and the criminal admits to the crime and surrenders hypothetically, they would have the right to invoke the Sixth Amendment. However, due to the overlapping of the District of Wyoming onto the Yellowstone parts of Idaho, the criminal has the right to a jury who lives both in Idaho and the District of Wyoming – that is, from the ‘Zone of Death’.
In his research paper ‘The Perfect Crime’, Michigan State law professor Brian Kalt says that as per the 2000 Census, this particular region has a population of ‘precisely zero’. Therefore, any criminal act committed here would theoretically have to be dismissed by a court of law.
Legal researchers like Kalt have long advocated for the closure of the Yellowstone ‘loophole’. Kalt has tried to lobby Congress to add the 50 square miles to Wyoming, thereby bringing a simple solution to the legal loophole. He even contacted Idaho senator Mike Simpson to propose the same. However, the senator dismissed the proposal stating that in such cases the judicial system would ‘prevail’ and there is no need for redistricting.
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And hence, the ‘Zone of Death’ still continues to exist in the Yellowstone National Park.