I visited the Yellowstone Zone of Death
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- Опубліковано 4 лют 2025
- I feel like there are other UA-cam channels that would take a different approach here. ▪ With thanks to Professor Brian Kalt: his original article is here: papers.ssrn.co... -- any inaccuracies that have slipped in are mine alone, and this is, obviously, not legal advice!
To save you doing the research, my location while recording this was approximately 44.14 N, 111.05 W. I got three mosquito bites in under thirty minutes, including one on my hand.
(And the credits for this one are very old-school, so I'm adding a slightly self-aggrandising note here: I did everything for this video! The camera, the editing, the sound mix, the graphics. It's good to know I can still do that occasionally!)
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.c...
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com/ / lateralcast
➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: / tomscottplus
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: / techdif
Two people drove past while I was setting up my camera, and I was, ever so briefly, worried.
2 views
18/7/22
8 days ago? where do you hide the time machine tom?
Love the hard work you put in your vids tom!
They may have been too 😅
@@soldwyn he ate it
I like how he didn't bring a cameraman for this one. He took no chances.
But cameramen are indestructible!?
@@pgre Tom is not
@@pgre Now Tom is the cameraman
Shreyas gets it.
@@gamingmaster6377 Tom is a golden god stop this treason
"Hell no, I am not going to tempt the forces of irony like that"
This professor will survive any disaster. He's genre savvy as hell.
That's the line that got a total laugh from me
In a morbid way though, if you REALLY think about it, he would become a martyr for his own cause and literally die to see the change he wants to see.
It would be tragic, yes, but his case would finally force precedent to be set one way or another.
@@TheFirstHumanAdam L
reading these while knowing him as my dad is so funny
He will survive any horror movie as well.
That is so nuts, I have fished the Idaho section of Yellowstone a few times, and am a lawyer, and I had no idea about this. Aside from making sure I carried both my Wyoming and Idaho fishing licenses and a handgun (bears are a real concern for anglers there), I wasn't thinking about the law; in fact, those mountains are where I go to escape thinking about the law!
Probably the best spot you could be if you didn't want to think about the law
@@Taurickk LMAOO
@@Taurickk dam
might want to find a new spot because you missed a doosy with this one where thinking of the law could be a lifesaver
I hope you had your Yellowstone Park fishing permit, the only license needed within park boundaries !
"I am not going to tempt the forces of irony like that."
I like this guy.
He's Genre Savvy
Superstitious?
This zone seems a great place to lose virginity. *Whether you like it or not :)*
He'd survive a horror movie
@@kormannn1 oh no
Its absolutely hilarious to me that the "Yellowstone Zone of Death" has absolutely nothing to do with the supervolcano
that's what this Aussie had assumed from the title. I was like "I know some of the springs can kill, but 'zone of death' is a bit over-wrought'."
Unless…
If the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupts we are ALL in the Zone of Death.
@@zsandmann no we're not, it's not apocalyptically dangerous look at some proper volcanologist coverage about it (sorry I seem to have been unclear, read some proper research or watch some properly referenced videos on UA-cam as anyone can make a video but it takes some proper effort and understanding for proper refeencing)
@@emiliskog I am a Geophysicist....
The worst thing about moving into that part of Idaho would be that every time a crime gets committed...you get a summons for jury duty.
Just being mightily annoyed by it might make you unfit for jury duty. Or you could just pull the magic secret that I am not going to tell, because if you knew it, you would be unfit.
And that is not a joke. "The law that won't be told" by GPG Grey is about that. Watch only if you are no US citizen.
Can't, its a national park. You can't own the property to build a home there.
@@timhorton8085 you actually can
@@timhorton8085 OK but what if I just go build a home there anyway? Don't they have the same problem where they can't prosecute me?
@@notme222 You'd be the only member of the jury, so I think you might get away with it
I am 100% convinced that congress will not rectify this issue until someone actually tests it out.
Congress might not even do anything then if it happens during another government shutdown 😭
It’s not an issue. Almost everything he said was wrong. Crimes have been prosecuted here. The federal government has jurisdiction over the entire country. A lack of population doesn’t hurt jury selection. They just find nearby people.
Dismissing a minor charge like poaching is totally irrelevant to murder.
To pretend that federal court districts apply in this way is preposterous. Those districts are merely organizational. Cases can be appointed to random districts for a number of reasons.
@@Roger-il8iwdo you have any examples you can name?
@@Roger-il8iwAs the law is written what you are saying is wrong. Until it is challenged in court you don't know what you're talking about and just making a bunch of assumptions.
@@OrbObserverhe is right.
Another problem with poaching an elk in this zone is trying to find a saucepan big enough to boil the water .
HEYOOOO
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
It's Yellowstone. You don't need a pot. The waters already boiling.
Just make jerky, lots and lots and lots and some more lots of jerky.
@@klashnacovak47 but they were poaching the elk not making jerky.
Not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping Tom was going to break a couple really obscure Idaho laws like riding a merry-go-round on a Sunday or buying a chicken after sundown without the sheriff’s permission. Like a sequel to the video about committing dumb crimes in London.
The difference is that an American prosecutor might actually prosecute him. We have some really petty people in the American legal system.
@@dhgmrz17 ah yes the wild karen. a group of people that will try to sue you when you walk funny.
@@matlatpower7472 You don't have to do anything so outrageous as walking funny. Just existing puts you at risk of becoming one of their targets.
@@mailleweaver but of course. Gotta feed that for-profit prison industry.
We flew a kite in a public space...
*bam bam bam bam
As a native Idaho resident, you could do this anywhere basically.
Everything is legal in -New Jersey- Idaho
Just a whole lot of nothing for a body to not get found in?
@@kaymarx9677 Why do you think so few people live there? They've all been murdered. Obviously.
@@kaymarx9677 Well you just throw the body into Yellowstone
I've always been fascinated by the disconnect some people have between what the law as written is.
And what laws are actually enforced and what is enforceable.
Rural areas its somewhat obvious why, how that happens. It happens in Urban areas as well though just for different reasons.
My family refers to this area as the “train station”. We’ve been dumping bodies there for decades.
That’s what I was thinking.
150 years
Hello Duttons
I like the way you can tell that the the 'Tom drives in to Yellowstone Park' and 'Tom drives out of Yellowstone Park' were filmed within minutes of each other by the almost identical shadows on the trees in each shot.
OR MAYBE THEY WERE JUST TAKEN AT THE SAME TIME AT DIFFERENT DAYS?!!!
@@timaidley7801 or year but same date.
I mean it’s only a 6 minute video. He could have driven just a little bit past the sign and set up his tripod and recorded the bit then drove off. (Yes he probably did what you said)
I choose to believe it is the same footage played in reverse.
@@bevstarrunner9472 🤣🤣🤣
I love these kind of legal loopholes.
Reminds me of the bit in the Martian where Mark Watney points out that he's actually committing international piracy by driving around Mars.
@@ragnkja Well technically maybe both?
He was technically committing piracy by taking over the MAV-4 without specifically being ordered to do so. Just driving around on Mars is not piracy or any other crime.
@@ragnkja I know you are probably joking but other celestial bodies are handled as international water in legal terms.
@@ragnkja Law in space will likely follow international law, like what happens with a crime on an airliner over international waters. Usually it defaults to the country the carrier is with and/or the origin and/or destination of the flight.
Mark Watney: Space Pirate
By the end of Tom Scott’s career, he will have turned over every bizarre legal stone there is.
I think you underestimate how many bizarre legal stones there are to turn over.
@@nerdy_crawfish i think the world is made for the weird... cos no one would ever think... of... it... : hmm. emoji :
ye
And this time that legal stone was the Yellow stone :P
He'd have to turn over the world nearly. But it sure would be interesting to see
Former lawyer here. Best, and clearest explanation I’ve ever heard on this issue! Bravo!!
back in college, A few buddies and I drove up to the belcher ranger station and then hiked up to Dunanda falls, the few people we met on the trail were some of the nicest people I have ever met. It's probably safe to assume they were so pleasant because they had just finished murdering their worst enemies.
Only naturally
“Well, now that’s done. Dinner anyone?” 🤣
On a boys trip out there I pushed my friend to hike all the way to see the falls, which in retrospect was too much for his abilities... We still joke that I was trying to kill him that day 😬
It certainly sets you up for the day.
Of course 🤣🤣
An actual realistic crime that can be committed in the Zone of Death is illegal logging
I guess you would be prosecuted in a civil court and be forced to pay for it.
@@larsjonasson2959 state parks are a federal entity, you can’t be civilly sued by the federal court, that’s an oxymoron.
@@wolfetteplays8894 So the OP is right?
Surely there's some sort of laws on the books for "transportation of goods related to illegal logging" in the surrounding states. I do agree that logging, poaching, etc seem like the most likely crimes.
dude its a real life pvp zone and ur doing illegal logging?
Looks like the mosquitos are well aware of the laws!! Great video, as always, Tom!
@@homeland1128 Umm mosquitoes can be less aggressive in certain places
Tom discovered why the mosquito is jokingly called the state bird in a number of states.
@@ragnkja no, mosquitoes are friendly normally in fact, I have few of them as pets. They even kiss me out of gratitude
I'm betting that Tom probably murdered a number of mosquitoes while there. More interestingly, the mosquitoes that assaulted him probably could be put up on trial, because I'm sure that a judge in those parts would have no problem finding 12 of them.
I just wanna say, Tom has invited me out here like 4 or 5 times saying "cmon you have got to see this, its incredible", but I keep ending up busy at the last second and he never specifies what it is I need to see, should I be worried? 😟
Just go, it'll be fun!
Are you still alive?
the Hunt will be awesome!
Lmaooo
It will be fun TRUST HIM
I went to law school shortly after this discovery. We talked about it in Criminal Procedure class. It was a fun topic.
Can you explain why the poacher agreed to the deal?
Didnt understand that part...
@@yaykruser Would have cost him a lot of time and money to appeal and he may have been forced to serve his sentence during appeal (not typical, but they may have done that in this case), and they offered him a lot less of a sentence. It wasn't that major a crime anyway, I would guess it was something like time served so he could just be done with it.
@@yaykruser Michael Belderrain took the plea deal because he would likely have lost a court case if it had gone to trial. Attempting to use the zone of death defence would have been unlikely to succeed and it appeared that the judge would have just ruled that having a jury based in Wyoming would work just fine.
Isn't it funny that vastly more time and effort has been spent discussing this, than the five minutes it would actually take Congress to fix it, by just declaring the state and district for these areas explicitly?
@@klaxoncow Congress actually fix a law, they would rather add riders, to make it even more confusing, because one of them can make money from it. Why do you think the index for the US tax system regulations, and the index alone, is over 900 pages, and grows more every year, as new pork belly pieces and special exceptions, with nothing like a sunset clause, are added.
It's a shame that this wasn't put to the test in the poaching an elk case, as that would have given some precedent before it gets to murder or a similarly serious crime - or if the defence had worked, there'd be more compulsion to resolve it.
Because a dead elk is a horrible way to set a precedent for letting murderers go...not worth the risk.
@@OntarioBearHunter Killing an elk is.... not murder?
@@Time4Technology it's not murder but poaching is a shitty thing to do
If the legal issue is that "nobody lives there to make up a jury", I don't think murder is a significant risk, because nobody lives there to murder.
@@MisterNohbdy Tom Scott was briefly there.
That's a wise move. The mosquitoes in that area have been known to fly off with small pets and the occasional child. The death of an adult male has never been proven, but who wants to take that chance?
The mosquito's prosecutor proposed a deal...
By the time he even set up the camera his tshirt was red with blood.
I suspect they imported the genetically engineered super mosquitos native to Louisiana/Mississippi near New Orleans. But every tells me that" I'm being crazy" and "no that tin foil hat won't actually increases the reception of the government's mind control rays."
Mosquitoes with beaks, carrying off children. . . . Seems I heard Peter Falk talking about something like this years ago.
And when the mosquito gets put on trial, it'll be a jury of all mosquitoes, and they're definitely going to be biased.
So interesting.. I learned something new.
Thanks for making the video just 5 min instead of 20. I love that you speak fast and get straight to the point.
Thanks for sharing!!
My husband and I made a murder mystery puzzle escape type game with this as our premise for our family reunion at Yellowstone.
It's nice to know that our theoretical solve of "get the killer on conspiracy elsewhere" would actually work, I suggested it but I don't actually have a legal background.
Al Capone's reign of terror ended not because they pinned him down for conspiracy to murder, drug trafficking, or human trafficking, but because they got him on 22 counts of tax evasion.
The hard part is proving there was a conspiracy else where and that it wasn't seat of the pants. (assuming the murderer did their homework)
MUST BE NICE TO HAVE A FAMILY CLAIRE
The old "interstate commerce / crossed state lines" bits also seems to crop up in charges, so you may want to be very careful about what you take across the border into the zone.
@@Thermalions I suppose that technically you could avoid that by crossing into the zone from the Idaho side, so you had crossed a district line but not a state line.
Long, long ago there was a small triangle of land in northern California that had accidentally been left out of all of the surrounding cities and counties. When this was discovered, there were casinos and brothels opened, as well as kids going there to get drunk. It was called "No Man's Land" but sometime around 1955 they changed it and shut everything down.
Exactly, there has to be a problem before anyone is going to bother with a solution.
@@SiXiam - Freedom is indeed a problem for some.
@@CookinginRussia Freedom to be robbed, raped, murdered? Is that what you're arguing in favour of?
@@tycarne7850 - No one was robbed,, raped or murdered there. There are federal laws against those things. At the time there were no federal laws against gambling, prostitution or any minimum age for drinking alcohol. Nice try.
@@chompythebeast That's an interesting takeaway from this anecdote.
And the worst part is, those mosquitoes might get off on a technicality
There's that whole reasonable doubt issue, though. I know I can't tell one mosquito from another. (Well, sort of. I can tell a dead mosquito from a live one. But the dead one is in no shape to be identified, and it's not like we've got proboscis records for mosquitos.)
I've noticed the park is not just in wyoming. It appeared strange to me. Now this legal loophole has been illustrated,and it's extremely unsettling. In the wrong hands.
Don't think its that big of a deal. Judges act all the time with the reasoning of "while that's true in relation the letter of the law, I can't just let you go" like Tom referenced in the video.
@@toastedt140 It's a big deal. The visinage clause is in the 6th ammendment to the u.s. constitution. It's clearly defined.
@@johnwelchs3576Watch the video.
Again, as you're obviously missing the point.
Anyone on trial for killing anyone there is going to jail for the multiple reasons listed on the video.
@@bardsamok9221 Read the 6th ammendment.
@@toastedt140So judge's can literally just ignore the law on a whim?
What's point of judges even bothering to learn the law if they are under no obligation to actually follow it?
Considering how many people disappeared in Yellowstone it is creepy that this loophole exists...
Well I'm assuming 99 percent of those people got lost while hiking backcountry it's super dangerous obviously
If you take a similar sized area and slap it onto any part of the globe, I bet you find as many or more missing people. Population density and crime rate notwithstanding, test even in rural/undeveloped areas I'm sure it's like ships disappearing in a triangle sized area of ocean the same as Bermudas triangle. Coincidence
@Qwopiretyu there's actually quite a few places that is lawless btw
@@bruderschweigen6889 maybe easten by predatory wildlife too
It hasn’t existed for years.
In the multiverse there is now a universe where Professor Kalt did say yes to the photo op and got killed, and due to his untimely and ironic death there they fixed the law 5 minutes later.
or they didn't fix it because Congress has so many more important things to do, and now there are copy-cat murders and gangs and militias performing gun battles every day
🤣
If that were to actually happen, it would almost certainly be the most ironic thing to ever happen.
Ah yes, the Kalt Revision
In that Universe the US Congress works quickly and isn’t anywhere near as corrupt.
Most people, even in North America, don't realize how vast and empty some parts of it are; particularly in the west. You were probably one of maybe a dozen people in a region bigger than most English counties.
I think that all comes down to how large the US is. People know Canada is large, but they don't know that the US and Canada are almost the same size and both are each around 95% of the size of the entirety of Europe while having less than half of its population (Less than 5% of the population in Canada's case)
@@annaairahala9462 Canada has a little more than 1/10 the population of the United States, even though it is the second largest country by total area.
I read a statistic recently which stated that 97% of the USA is classified as rural, and only 20% of the population lives there. That means 80% of the population lives in roughly 3% of the land area. If you happen to live in that 3%, particularly the part that represents cities, you might think the USA is densely populated. But the reality is very different.
@@rodh1404 even American cities aren't very densely populated by European standards. Los Angeles with 14 million people has roughly the same population density as Sheffield with 800,000.
@@rodh1404 and rich people say Overpopulation is a problem....BS, Population density is the problem
I feel like Tom is one of those people who grew up listening to every word his mom and dad said
That is an excellent way to put it. I agree completely.
He is. I did too and I have a similar personality to Tom
Tom: “I’m Not Stupid Enough to try and test it by committing a felony here”
Also Tom: *”Makes a Video all about breaking law in the UK”*
Stakes are totally different
America is known for being somewhat, hard core.
I kind of wish he took a kite with him.
We flew a kite in a public place
We flew a kite in a puuublic place
By this I mean, the biggest amount of people incarcerated, in raw numbers and as a percentage.
And only about 2% of 2.3 million incarcerated get a trial.
tom didn't record, but he actually commited numerous felonies while on site
Tom Bundy: A threat to Yellowstone and the world.
Like shatting in the woods?
should do a video on silly laws, go to the zone of death and break all of em
Hey i see one of your videos a while a go!
Knowing the labyrinth of the American Legal System, he probably already did without knowing it.
I expected Tom to finish the whole monologue, then the camera slowly pans over to a very uncomfortable Joel Haver: "Why...um...why'd you bring me out here, Tom?"
@@benpthomas99 Hush
Anyone else binging Tom's old videos following his farewell?
Me, since that's how I discovered his channel.
Thank you, Tom, for captioning all your videos and for having one of the most distinctive UA-cam voices out there, so I can watch your video at 3 AM with the sound off and still know exactly what you're saying and exactly how you're saying it.
This is like if an online game disables PvP serverwide but there's a little bit of map geometry where PvP is still enabled and the devs haven't bothered patching it.
i think it’s the opposite for me anyways. the situation you described is like the yellowstone zone of death. Most people here probably haven’t experienced what you are describing but they have seen this video
I have no idea what any of that meant.
@@davidcat1455 then why do you bother inserting your ignorance into the comment section? the entire internet isn't tailored for you, narcissist.
@@sylvy16 ... that's literally what he said. this comment is a jumble of random words with no substance.
@@catsnake9842 You criticize davidcat for calling out a nonsense comment and then immediately turn around and do the same thing... Well played, sir. All our internet points are now belong to you.
Hey Tom, if you’re ever on the western side of Idaho you should check out Loon Lake. There’s a crashed WWII bomber that you can hike into. It’s a really cool place with an interesting story
You could also talk about how Boise County contains neither Boise or Fort Boise. Boise doesn’t even contain Fort Boise
Did the bomber get lost on the way to Dresden?
@@krashd it was lost on a training mission. Flight from Vegas to Boise
He did a video a while back asking people to email him story ideas.
@@krashd An incendiary suggestion
"The forces of irony" were ignored by the inventor of the Segway. Never ignore the forces of irony.
Professor Kalt: "Hell no, I am not going to tempt the forces of irony like that"
Tom Scott: Hold my camera!
Except nobody held Tom's camera, so even he's not tempting the forces of irony like that
In England there is still a Law (going back many many centuries) which states that it is legal to kill a Scotsman within the City Walls of York as long as he is armed with a bow and arrow at the time. The city walls still exist and the Law has never been formally repealed. This loophole was explored ( theoretically at least, down the pub) during the tenure of a particularly unpopular Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who was a Scot. Elaborate schemes were devised to lure him to York, thrust a bow and arrow into his hands when he was unawares, and then hurray! Open season.
LMAOOOOOO 😂😂😂
Shanking Season!
Nice
The brits are quite crafty
god save the queen
we will use this law if an unfavourable bow-and-arrow-wielding scotsman enters york
This isn’t real as it’s not enforced, you’d get arrested for assault
Just don't get caught committing a crime inside the zone. The punishment would be whatever the person that caught you sees fit.
Do you mean because they themselves won't be punished for thier vigilantism?
@@jannikheidemann3805 correct
No the lesson is to never leave witnesses.
So Heaven?
@@trazyntheinfinite9895 Correct.
If someone hasn't put it together yet, that is where the "train station" is
"Hell no, I'm not going to tempt the forces of Irony like that". Some would call that superstitions. But he's absolutely right.
as a science person who does not believe in superstitions, luck, destiny etc. i am 100% going to be using this phrase from now on. it's gold
I read this right when he said it! 😎
I see how Tom deliberately chose not to bring a camera operator to film him so as not to tempt fate. 😅
"Oh, sure Tom, I'll make sure you're shot from your good side alright..."
When I clicked I was hoping the video would end with tom pulling out a knife and looking menacingly at the camera operator. "So what would happen if a crime was committed in the zone of death. There's only one way to find out!" *Cut to footage end screen*
@@horntx A found footage horror movie with Tom Scott as the villain would be quite interesting.
Or he couldnt find anyone willing to go there because they were scared...
There's something special about Tom Scott driving around America.
brit outta water
@@thesirms like the colonists in the 1600 - 1700s?
@@lordgemini2376 ''oi bruhv!, this america thingy awfully big innit?''
He's a special boy.
An Englishman in the New World, though the song is correct in New York.
The information you provided is amazing and just so you know, I've never heard of that and I'm 64! Thank you!
OLD
@@jamesxtwo rude
I think if anyone actually tried to get away with murder via this loophole, the federal government would try to _"Al Capone"_ them. The prosecution would try to charge you with any and all potential crimes you committed outside the zone, e.g. conspiracy, or kidnapping (if you took someone there against their will) and make sure you got the maximum sentence on every single one of them. I think it would be close to impossible to commit murder inside the zone without committing any crimes before/after which could get you a custodial sentence.
Beating a random tourist to death with your hands. It’s really not that hard to imagine.
@@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa 1. You would need to just happen across a tourist. Deliberately going around looking for people would certainly speak to premeditation (and so bolster a conspiracy charge). _[edit] as other people have pointed out, I incorrectly used "conspiracy" as a synonym for "premeditation" here. I now believe the more accurate charge on the basis of premeditation could be attempted murder._
2. Any tourist in the "zone of death" is likely there precisely because it's the "zone of death". It's unlikely that they wouldn't have anything on them (even something like pepper spray) to defend themselves from a physical assault.
3. Unless you could demonstrate that you were acting in self-defence and wholly unable to flee, beating someone to death is still murder and a conspiracy charge could still be made. I'm not sure a jury is going to buy that you deliberately went into this (relatively) tiny area of land and just happened to decide on a random whim to beat somebody to death.
@@wispa1786 A conspiracy is making a plan to murder someone with at least one other person. You seem to think it means planning to kill someone. It’s impossible to have a conspiracy to commit a crime with only one person.
@@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa ah OK sorry about that I didn't know the specific definition of conspiracy and I was just using it as a placeholder for "planning". Would it just fall under "attempted murder" then? I know that an attempted murder charge is brought usually only when the victim isn't actually killed, but I think taking any significant step towards the commission of a premeditated murder would constitute attempted murder and so that could be used in a "zone of death" case where the murder itself cannot be tried.
I suppose it probably matters what you consider murder, because if you were to visit Yellowstone with a loved one just for any normal reason, and there would be some sort of act of psychosis or you get really mad at something and end up killing them, it would not be a very high degree of murder but it would still technically illegally be murder and it wouldn't be premeditated nor would you kidnap anyone so theoretically you wouldn't have committed any other crimes.
Not far from where I used to live there was a lot of what was referred to by the locals as "no man's land". Essentially, it was just out of OPP jurisdiction as well as the local police. In this case, the RCMP were responsible for the area, but the nearest detachment was hours away. It's not like you couldn't be charged for a crime, but the likelihood of ever being caught was slim to none. Especially if there were no living witnesses and you buried the evidence. The area is absolutely massive, and almost completely untouched save for old logging access roads. I used to explore up there in my truck until I crossed a lived in mobile home trailer that looked like something out of a Rob Zombie film. I never really took the warnings seriously until that moment, never again did I journey into no man's land.
Cool story bro
Where exactly is this located?
Where is this at?
Oklahoma
@@karsten7566 Based on OPP and RCMP, somewhere just outside Ontario Provincial Police's jurisdiction in Canada.
"I'm not stupid enough to try and test it by committing a felony here, Apologies if you thought i was that stupid I am on youtube after all"
and this is why i love your videos
Funny how he’s apologizing skdoeksjd
2:48
I like the idea that for that final shot tom drove away from the zone of death, put a camera there and hit record, than drove back closer to the zone of death so he could drive towards the camera again
...and then drive back to get the camera
0:53
“So, I’m gonna explain thi-“
(Gunshot)
(Video ends)
Finally, The one area where I can make a Nintendo Fangame.
If you commented this from outside the Zone of Death, you could potentially be charged with conspiracy to develop a Nintendo Fangame
@@matthewjanzen4837 It'll be my word against theirs.
Miss you Tom. Your videos are still an epitome on education through entertainment platforms.
I live here in Cody and let's be honest, you can get away with way more in the deserts of Wyoming than you ever would in the zone of death.
Mostly because no one I know knows anything that has happened in Wyoming and probably couldn't place it on a map.
more legislator interest than actually going to them middle of the forest. this is why folks make meth labs out there, it is simply the distance that makes it hard to find a criminal in the act.
@@Jacob-TX I mean.
It's a Square. That shouldn't be hard to find!
@@Juniper_Rose what is a Wyoming?
Apologising for being thought of as stupid is the most wonderfully British Britishness
So is spelling 'apologizing' with an 's'! :P
@@MisterItchy except thats not personality lmao
@@MisterItchy 🇬🇧Guity. My profound apologies 😉
@@MisterItchy I think you'd find that all English speaking countries outside the US would spell it that way! :P
@@MisterItchy Why do you think @ColourRiot has it spell incorrectly, when it is in fact your American English spelling that is wrong. Remember, up until a few years ago US companies such as Microsoft called 'American English', English - Simplified. They did this for a reason. The language English, comes from England (really all of the UK), the US version is mainly down to one or two men, Noah Webster being the most famous as he wanted to simplify the spelling of several English words and produced a dictionary with his alternative spellings, that became popular in the US.
Hey, I was just at Yellowstone about 5 days ago! I was on a road trip with my family, and Yellowstone was a great part of the trip. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. Just, don’t stay in the zone of death for TOO long.
Especially now after Tom revealed this to all the life hack youtubers. At least one of them is bound to think of making "how to avoid prosecution life hack" video if some of their insane ideas are anything to go by, and it's probably best not to be there when they decide to make the video.
everybody should see yellowstone. well, I'll amend that to everybody intelligent should see yellowstone. the intelligent will be awestruck and inspired. the foolish will get gored by bison, scalded stepping off the boardwalks, or otherwise damage themselves and/or the landscape.
Actually, most of Yellowstone is the zone of death if the super volcano ever erupts. I enjoyed my visit there as well. Go there before Disney World.
Jake Paul posts * getting away with murder in Yellowstone * in 2 weeks
@@dwayne7356 if it goes to a full eruption, most of north america is the zone of death.
And this is how Yellowstone got the idea for the train station.
It would have to be a random, out of the blue, perfect timing murder otherwise they could charge you with kidnapping at least, or accuse you of killing the person outside the killzone and dropping their body off there. Technicalities work both ways
They would need to prove that you killed the body outside of it, its not a technicality. You are innocent until proven guilty in the US. You would be charged with kidnapping if you kidnapped someone to bring them there
even if they were willing, there'd be crossing state lines with intent or conspiracy to commit (interstate) x crime and jurors would be from Wyoming or your state of residence, government likes to loophole any loopholes
U wouldnt get away Scott free!!!! But u would catch a big break. Instead of like 30- life you'll b charged with like 3-8 years worth of stuff that would stick
They will catch you coming out, you're still a citizen of the united states with records... unless you were born and lived in the zone of death all your life, there is no real getting away with murder here.
Then just record yourself killing the person at the spot.
"I am now going to leave, either before someone else decides to commit a crime here, on me, or before I get eaten alive by mosquitoes." - 5:33
A shame they wouldn't be able to prosecute the mosquitoes in this zone
It isn't difficult to find enough mosquitoes who live there to select a fair jury.
What a stupid thing to say. Everyone knows mosquitoes are prosecuted by the mosquitoes jury and there are plenty of those there. /j
@@eljanrimsa5843 They're all allied against humankind, so no, it would never be an impartial jury.
Alas😭😭😭
There was another area like that in Utah. Between Roosevelt and Vernal Utah there is now a little town area called "Gusher". But back in the days of the Wild Wild West - it was known simply as "The Strip". Duschene County and Uintah County both declined authority and jurisdiction of The Strip and because of this... The Strip became THE PLACE TO GO to let your hair down, drink, gamble, and spend sometime with the soiled doves at a large white house that is still standing today, just off of Highway 40. There was more than a few gun fights, duels, what have you. If there was a real problem there... the Army would be called in and the famous Buffalo Soldiers stationed near by at Fort Duschene on the Ute Indian reservation would come in and take care of it. The Strip was a famous location on the infamous OUTLAW TRAIL.
I like that "soiled doves". 🙂
I think you missed the point.
Truth is, the game was rigged from the start.
We have a spot not completely unlike that in Ireland called Drummully. Due to the way the borders were drawn up, Drummully itself is in the Republic of Ireland, but the only road access is via the North. During the Troubles when the Gardaí couldn't set foot in Northern Ireland it was an absolute hotbed of Poitín making and other criminal enterprises. The RUC wouldn't touch it because it was in Ireland, and the Guards couldn't get to it because they would have had to pass through the North.
@@dozer1642 do you mean the point that the Zone of Death is a Constitutional issue, not just a "not claiming nor enforcing jurisdiction" issue? Yes because there are many parts of the world where the latter shaped history, but I do not know of any where it's a problem that touches Constitutional law.
5:34 I thought he was going to say “ or before I decide to commit a crime myself” and then it panned to his tripod and I realized he’s already done it, he’s disappeared his cameraman into the wilderness never to be seen again, then created a video on the exact loophole he used, the perfect crime.
I was speaking about this with someone literally yesterday and they didn't believe me. Thanks for helping me say 'I told you so'.
As a nearby resident of the "Zone of Death", bing eaten alive by mosquitos there is a real possibility. One of the most mosquito infested areas in the lower 48 states.
They are gigantic!
This is really not about how to get away with murder, but how to get away with something not worth fixing a law for. Drug offenses maybe?
You could get in trouble for conspiracy by driving through another district with the drug equipment or any number of other crimes by contacting people outside the zone on email or text or whatever. I wouldn't try it.
What kind of drugs are you selling?
Murder: "Nah, who cares".
Drug offence: "Oh my gosh, we need to fix the law right now!" 😅
But as pointed out in the video, if you coordinate with anyone outside the zone or while outside the zone yourself ("come here for our drug deal"), you could be arrested for conspiracy in the place where that communication happened.
I don't know for sure but I think you can only be on trial according to the rules when you commited the crime, so even if they fixed the rules *after* you killed someone they still couldn't put you on trial. And I think the trouble with other offenses is that you need to keep all of it inside the zone, or you could be on trial for the parts outside the zone. For example, if you made drugs inside the zone but sold them outside you could still get in trouble. Not sure tho, I'm not a lawyer 😅
Love how quick and to the point this guys videos are! so interesting!!
5:38 - I'd be more concerned about the Tree of Death in the background to the right of Tom. That thing looks like something from a horror film that some minor character is going to get impaled against! 😂
I would definitely get killed by that tree
Holy crap me too Jonathan. What's worse is that tree would go free.
that tree looks like it's from FernGully
2:51 " Apologies if you thought I was that stupid , I am on UA-cam after all "
- Tom Scott (2022)
I mean if there haven't been any recorded violent crimes in a 50 sq mile patch of land in the last 18 years, doesn't that make it statistically incredibly safe?
In absolute terms, perhaps. Per capita,
well, changes are that when you die there, you will not be found for a long time.
Well anywhere with barely any people it's unlikely to be killed by someone. There are also no crimes in random 100 mile patches of the pacific.
@@lukasg4807 Yep, still really safe though!
@@sarowie I mean your asking someone to prove a negative, someone could have died there, but also there could be a unicorn in there as well. Know of any evidence of something bad happening in that part of the park?
CJ Box wrote a book about that very premise called “Free Fire” twenty years ago
I thought he was going to commit a minor, never-enforced, only-in-technicality crime like littering one square of toilet paper.
How about flying a kite in a public place?
"Don't appeal the zone of death issue" is a major red flag in itself. The fact is they know there's a problem, and that it's a huge problem, but just choose the "if i don't look at it, it's not there" approach is essentially admitting that you could get away with a crime in the zone
edit: My point is that prosecutors know there's an issue there and don't want to create a precedent that establishes it as lawless by pursuing it, not that the prosecutors themselves are in charge of that. If they wanted to expedite fixing it, prosecuting a case within the scope of the zone of death technicality would absolutely do that. It would be a major headache, but it would help
Or that those particular people involved with that particular case realized it would be a lot of trouble and a headache for everyone, except possibly the defendant.
There is no convenient collective "they" to blame I'm this case except perhaps congress. And... Even then, the members of congress are continually changing. People retire, get booted in, booted out, die, etc.
All you can really blame is laziness and bureaucracy.
Well, the they in that case we're just prosecutors. They have no powers to actually make laws and fix the issue.
@@jmovlogs Exactly.
What do you mean? They’re prosecutors not law-makers. An appeal means that the either side can go the the court of appeals in their district and they can overrule the verdict. It’s not the issue itself thats being appealed, it’s the guilty verdict.
I don't see your point. Yes, the prosecution sees the issue is there and wants to avoid it, but they have absolutely no influence with the lawmakers, and the lawmakers are the ones that need to fix this. They're two completely different bodies. One sees the issue but can't fix it, one can fix the issue but doesn't see it.
And this is why we don't let computer scientists interpret law. They'd throw a segfault pretty quickly.
Index out of bounds.."welp, because you are the 11th accused of murder, and we only have space for 10, you are not iterated through therefore not considered, have a nice life"
@@Guide4Ever You committed.... -32768 murders? That can't be right...
@@Guide4Ever I feel like NullPointerException would be thrown constantly for places/laws/etc. that no longer exist.
Knock knock, Race condition!
@@astramancer Thats probably not so far from the truth considering judicial system probably hasnt updated their packages and system for a long time...still stuck with the damn 16-bit system 🤔
A few laws to consider in Montana and Wyoming (though I'm unsure about Idaho) are the legal right to shoot somebody if they refuse to leave your property, and that it's still legal to hang someone if they steal your horse. This might only be legal in one state or be split between the two, but there are stories of unwelcome company being legally killed over things like marital affairs.
This is fascinating, thanks Tom!
never knew a judge could just ignore the law if they feel like it. very scary
Only if the defendant doesn't appeal the case, which is why the prosecutor gave the defendant a reduced sentence in exchange for not appealing
Really they can't and it would be strong grounds for an appeal.
He was probably mislead into not appealing it, or he didn't think it was worth the energy. Would've been a hero if he did though.
I wish he had appealed, maybe then this loophole would have been fixed.
@@snake1776 why are you defending an actual poacher?
I love technicalities! Was on a jury once for someone pulled over in a work zone for speeding. He tried saying he was past the work zone when he was speeding at 11pm.
The lawyer did say that signs were posted , but never mentioned if anyone was actually working at 11pm.
The law states that it for it to be a work zone, it must have signs AND workers present.... we really didnt have much to go one though.
I would have loudly advocated for a "not guilty" verdict in that situation TBH. If the instructions' definition of the crime has three pieces (speeding, in a zone with the signs, where people are working), and the prosecution only bothered to present evidence for two, then they didn't do their job and have nobody but themselves to blame.
This is oddly convenient considering how easy it is to also dispose of a body in yellowstone.
what
do you wanna repeat that buddy
@@vinylthedeadqueenit really is easy, i mean you could just hide it anywhere while on a hike and the bears would get to it
Defense attorney: -You... clapped someone to death? It's so bizarre I don't even know I can convince the jury.
Defendant: -It doesn't matter, I did it in the Zone of Death, they won't be able to assemble a jury.
(The Judge enter)
Judge: -Order! Let the jury enter.
(The jury enters. It's all mosquitoes)
Defendant: -Oh, no...
"Will I change the jury's mind by presenting my arm as a special conciliatory delicacy?"
I imagined something completely different when you said "clapped someone to death"
If they were all mosquitoes AND they were able to reason and communicate to the point of being able to judge someone's innocence, then I think we have bigger problems in Yellowstone than some murderers.
Mosquitoes don't have a long enough lifespan to live long enough to qualify for jury duty.
@@AlRoderick ok you got him on a technicality
I would have thought somewhere called the Yellowstone Zone of Death would have been something a little more volcanic.
Actually, you passed
interpret that how you wish haha
A supervolcano that might kill hundreds of millions just in N. America and cause a Tambora-style global winter, but for years. Charming thought, almost as bad as a kilometer-wide asteroid impact. Go Elon, colonize Mars, baby!
What an absolute Hero for going all the way there just to make a six minute video
Much needed carbon emissions
and be wrong at that
@@blu3_enjoy don’t cry bro
“Thinking they should fix it” and smiling. Diabolical 😊
"Apologies if you thought I was that stupid, I am on UA-cam after all." Only Tom...
You know, it reminds me of the UA-camrs that created a contest to run around and violate ridiculous sounding laws that presumably they think are unlikely to get prosecuted.
@@bearcubdaycare didn't Tom do that very thing in London years ago?
I feel like the most likely crime to be committed in a place like that would be either poaching, illegal logging, or littering, something that doesn't necessarily require more than one person to be involved (which would make it a conspiracy). There's also various other rules in certain National Parks that someone could theoretically break in a place like that, like approaching wild animals, but I don't know if breaking those types of rules would be a criminal offense.
is it a crime if mosquitos suck the life out of you?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@raven4k998 No you're good x
This is where having a cameraman, and having him tackle you out of the shot at the end of the video would’ve come in handy.
"hey ferb i know what we're gonna do today"
Good work Tom! I work for the National Park Service (Not Yellowstone) and this topic is something akin to what is called "Ranger lore" or, curious things inside parks...
“My apologies if you thought I was going to do something stupid, I am on UA-cam”
Love you Tom
There was a similar bit of land where New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut meet. When Conn. got more coastal area and gave inland area to NY in trade, it created a triangle of forest near Mt Washington that none of the states wanted due to the difficulties in policing such a rural area. If any of them tried to impose jurisdiction they would have been 'admitting' the area was part of their state, so it was considered a 'lawless' area. Eventually it became part of NY, and named Boston Corner.
Mt Washington is in NH if I'm not mistaking.
@@Joe-oi6eh different Mt Washington... they're all over like towns named Lincoln and Jefferson :)
I just moved to the Hudson Valley from the city and now I have to visit. Thank you for adding this to my list of incredibly dorky historical things I need to see in the area :D
@@awibs57 Cool, Bish Bash Falls is a good day hike spot right near that area.
People on the reservation are saying hold my beer
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels paranoid about visiting the Zone of Death. If I ever went there, I would just spend the whole time both fighting the urge to commit a crime, and being terrified that some psycho would choose that particular place and that particular moment to put the loophole to the test in a very violent way.
Do not be terrified of a psycho you are the psycho that you are terrified of
It's like an all-day Purge
Honestly, I'd be more concerned about the mosquitoes.
"I would just spend the whole time both fighting the urge to commit a crime, and being terrified that some psycho would..."
Commit a crime?
Oh please
I've heard of this before, but its great for Tom to explore outside of Europe
Yes, I don't believe he's ever left Europe in the past 10 years 🙄
@@krashd he was in England a while ago
Funny, as an American, I was just thinking it's a great time to explore Europe _and never come back_
Tom - "So, this is not a place where crime is legal. The law applies here. I'm not stupid enough try and test it by committing a felony here."
Cameraman - "Oh thank god! I'm the only other person out here."
What cameraman?
Cameramen are immortal anyway
It would have been hilarious if there was a cameraman who stepped out in front and said, "I've been meaning to talk to you."
There's no cameraman in this video
He uses a stand...
Tom: You could get away with murder here!
Guy standing nearby: 😲🤔😏
I am THRILLED you did this. It’s always been so fascinating to me
Thanks for the tip tom, from the time this episode aired i've commited about 300 crimes in that zone.
Let's turn Yellowstone into bloody red stone
Welcome to America!, I hope you had a fun time in Yellowstone!
This isn't the video I expected haha. I thought this was going to be "Yellowstone is so wild and naturally dangerous, someone could hide a body here and it would look like an accident."
You absolutely could hide a body and no one would find it. Throw it in a geyser would be the obvious way but you could hike and just leave it in the open chances are no one would ever see it.
Me too