US Declines to Try Half of Native Crimes

[Tank]

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - There was swelling on the little girl's skull and hemorrhages around her brain. There was a tear between her right ear and scalp. The scars on her 36-pound body were consistent with burns from a space heater, a curling iron and hot noodles.

The mother said she had accidentally rolled over onto her daughter in bed, smothering her. The medical examiner concluded that the brown-eyed toddler with the wavy dark hair had been beaten, declaring her death a homicide.

Had 2-year-old Kiara Harvey died elsewhere the case likely would have been handled by the county sheriff or police, and the local district attorney.

But Kiara was a Navajo and she lived on the expansive Navajo Nation. On tribal lands, only federal prosecutions can lead to serious penalties for major crimes involving Native Americans. Those prosecutors, however, end up declining to pursue half of the cases nationally.

US Declines to Try Half of Native Crimes

 

[Mad Scientist]

From the link:

Tribal (Indian) prosecutors in Arizona say they largely agree with the federal government's reasons for declining cases but often don't have the resources to investigate for themselves.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Correct. It does not matter what one believes. Only what one can prove.
Because evidence is difficult to gather and cooperative witnesses even more difficult to come by.
Yeah, it's a God Damned shame. The US government set up these "nations" and of course they are not governable. So crimes go unpunished and all kinds of shit falls through the cracks

 

[Grace]

I'm pretty sure the tribal elders will deal with the mother. In their own way.

 

[Tank]

The standards for one culture are not the same for another

 

[Tank]

I'm pretty sure the tribal elders will deal with the mother. In their own way.

How do you think they will deal with it?