Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 24, 2006 9:51:58 GMT -5
NV: Men who stole petroglyphs escape punishment
*Men who stole petroglyphs escape punishment*
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
www.indianz.com/News/2006/013109.asp
Two non-Indian men who stole 1,000-year-old petroglyphs saw their theft
convictions thrown out by a federal appeals court on Tuesday after the
government
failed to prove the artifacts were of any value.
Using a winch on a truck, John Ligon and Carroll Mizell intentionally
tore three
petroglyphs from rock on federal land near Reno in August 2003. The men were
arrested after a secret witness tip led police to discover the artifacts on
display in Ligon's front lawn and in Mitchell's vehicle.
In spite of their actions, a federal jury acquitted the men of stealing
archaeological resources. Instead, Mizell and Ligon were convicted of
theft of
government property.
But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday threw out the theft
convictions.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel said government prosecutors
failed
to introduce evidence -- including a report that estimated the worth of the
petroglyphs -- that showed the artifacts were of "monetary" value.
"It is clear that Ligon and Mizell stole the petroglyphs. It is equally
clear
that the petroglyphs had a market value," Judge William A. Fletcher
wrote for the
majority. "But the government did not introduce that report into
evidence, or
indeed anything else that might have served as evidence of 'value'
within the
meaning of [federal law], although it obviously could have done so."
The report, prepared by a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist, indicated the
petroglyphs had a "retail" or "market" value of at $800 or $900, a
figure based
on photographs provided to an Indian arts dealer in Tucson, Arizona.
Since Ligon
and Mizell damaged the petroglyphs by tearing them out of the rock,
their value
significantly declined, according to the dealer.
But rather than base the case on the report, prosecutors relied on the
"archaeological" value of the petroglyphs. This approach conflicted with the
statute the men had been charged under -- U.S. Code Title 18, Section
641 defines
value as the retail or market value of the items.
"The government's choice not to introduce any evidence of 'value' within the
meaning of Section 641 unfortunately leaves us little choice," the court
wrote in
dismissing the charges.
During the trial, an archaeologist from the U.S. Forest Service
testified that
the petroglyphs had an archaeological value in the $8,000 range. A U.S.
Forest
Service special agent said she couldn't determine the "commercial" value
of the
items. The information, however, couldn't be used due to the government's
approach.
The case highlights the difficulty the government has faced in obtaining
convictions for theft of artifacts. Under the Archaeological Resource
Protection
Act, prosecutors must prove a person knowingly stole archaeological items
"For a felony conviction, the prosecution should have to prove that a person
charged under ARPA knew, or at least had reason to know, that the object
taken is
an 'archeological resource," the 9th Circuit wrote in a September 2001
case in
which a man who called himself an "Indiana Jones type" removed an Alaska
Native
skull from a Tlingit village gravesite.
The man was eventually sentenced to three months in prison and was
ordered to pay
$7,356 in restitution for a misdemeanor violation of ARPA. But the 9th
Circuit
had previously set aside his conviction because prosecutors failed to
make the
case for archaeological theft.
The petroglyphs feature images of a man and images of a hunter and a bighorn
sheep. When they were reported stolen, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and
California
and the Reno Sparks Indian Colony to a $4,000 reward for information
leading to
the arrest of those responsible.
"These messages are the essential elements and evidence of our existence
and we
view their theft as a reflection of the ultimate contempt for creation,
this land
and its sacred heritage," Washoe Chairman Brian Wallace said at the time,
according to The Reno Gazette-Journal. "It is an unutterable crime
against the
eternal and unseen."
*
The material in this post is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research
and educational purposes. For more information go to:
www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email
for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.
*Men who stole petroglyphs escape punishment*
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
www.indianz.com/News/2006/013109.asp
Two non-Indian men who stole 1,000-year-old petroglyphs saw their theft
convictions thrown out by a federal appeals court on Tuesday after the
government
failed to prove the artifacts were of any value.
Using a winch on a truck, John Ligon and Carroll Mizell intentionally
tore three
petroglyphs from rock on federal land near Reno in August 2003. The men were
arrested after a secret witness tip led police to discover the artifacts on
display in Ligon's front lawn and in Mitchell's vehicle.
In spite of their actions, a federal jury acquitted the men of stealing
archaeological resources. Instead, Mizell and Ligon were convicted of
theft of
government property.
But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday threw out the theft
convictions.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel said government prosecutors
failed
to introduce evidence -- including a report that estimated the worth of the
petroglyphs -- that showed the artifacts were of "monetary" value.
"It is clear that Ligon and Mizell stole the petroglyphs. It is equally
clear
that the petroglyphs had a market value," Judge William A. Fletcher
wrote for the
majority. "But the government did not introduce that report into
evidence, or
indeed anything else that might have served as evidence of 'value'
within the
meaning of [federal law], although it obviously could have done so."
The report, prepared by a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist, indicated the
petroglyphs had a "retail" or "market" value of at $800 or $900, a
figure based
on photographs provided to an Indian arts dealer in Tucson, Arizona.
Since Ligon
and Mizell damaged the petroglyphs by tearing them out of the rock,
their value
significantly declined, according to the dealer.
But rather than base the case on the report, prosecutors relied on the
"archaeological" value of the petroglyphs. This approach conflicted with the
statute the men had been charged under -- U.S. Code Title 18, Section
641 defines
value as the retail or market value of the items.
"The government's choice not to introduce any evidence of 'value' within the
meaning of Section 641 unfortunately leaves us little choice," the court
wrote in
dismissing the charges.
During the trial, an archaeologist from the U.S. Forest Service
testified that
the petroglyphs had an archaeological value in the $8,000 range. A U.S.
Forest
Service special agent said she couldn't determine the "commercial" value
of the
items. The information, however, couldn't be used due to the government's
approach.
The case highlights the difficulty the government has faced in obtaining
convictions for theft of artifacts. Under the Archaeological Resource
Protection
Act, prosecutors must prove a person knowingly stole archaeological items
"For a felony conviction, the prosecution should have to prove that a person
charged under ARPA knew, or at least had reason to know, that the object
taken is
an 'archeological resource," the 9th Circuit wrote in a September 2001
case in
which a man who called himself an "Indiana Jones type" removed an Alaska
Native
skull from a Tlingit village gravesite.
The man was eventually sentenced to three months in prison and was
ordered to pay
$7,356 in restitution for a misdemeanor violation of ARPA. But the 9th
Circuit
had previously set aside his conviction because prosecutors failed to
make the
case for archaeological theft.
The petroglyphs feature images of a man and images of a hunter and a bighorn
sheep. When they were reported stolen, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and
California
and the Reno Sparks Indian Colony to a $4,000 reward for information
leading to
the arrest of those responsible.
"These messages are the essential elements and evidence of our existence
and we
view their theft as a reflection of the ultimate contempt for creation,
this land
and its sacred heritage," Washoe Chairman Brian Wallace said at the time,
according to The Reno Gazette-Journal. "It is an unutterable crime
against the
eternal and unseen."
*
The material in this post is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research
and educational purposes. For more information go to:
www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email
for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.