Comments about ‘2nd man in relics case kills himself’

have all this to think about....a "few old pots" vs. the lives of two good men. We are out of focus in this country in so many ways. The shock of having to face felony charges by the good doctor was more than he could take...for a "few old pots" left as worthless by a primitive people who moved out of a forsaken land. Our sympathies to the Redd family and others who have thad their lives turned around by federal marshalls...for a "few Old pots."

Federal law enforcement tends to take a particularly callous, heartless approach to its work.

They need to be held accountable for their outcomes--just as they hold people responsible for their actions.

We expect better from our federal officers, but they seem to feel like the public deserves less from them.

It is very sad that these two men took their lives, but blaming the feds, for charging criminals with CRIMES, is the wrong way of looking at things as well.
What a tragedy that these men committed suicide, but they should have been charged with the crimes they were charged with.
That area is filled with land that carries history of Indian ancestors that many consider sacred.
It's not the feds fault these men killed themselves. These guys probably will only have to pay a fine for what they have done, not exactly looking at "hard time" that seems impossible to get through

This is tragic, but also strange--we have enough evidenc that innocent people are found not guilty through the judicial process.

Why is it then that these two men could not face that process? There must be something more going on . . .

These men were facing up to ten years in prison. I would call that "hard time." Yes they were accused of felonies, but are all felonies created equal? According to the law you can be convicted of a felony for finding an arrowhead on public land and taking it home with you. Illegal? Yes. But a felony?

So am I to understand that I can come to your house and take what I want from your "old pot" cabinets and closets and its ok???
Let's face facts here.... the 24 are thieves-- they stole artifacts for you and me as citizens of the USA.
Two have committed suicide because in fact they were cowards as well as thieves.
Someone once said "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL". Does that sound familiar???
One of the organized religions in this area goes a little further and says "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, IN OBEYING, HONORING, AND SUSTAINING THE LAW."
What part of sustaining the law don't you Southern Utah folks understand????

It might be easier to feel sympathy for the alleged felons if they were, as Jake claims, just picking up an occasional arrowhead. But he conveniently ignores the fact that they were selling their plunder for hundreds and thousands of dollars.

These two men broke the law. Period. It's sad that they chose to end their own lives, but stop blaming the government for the criminal behavior of these men.

If you don't like our laws, leave our country. Period.

Something really fishy going on... I think they should deeply investigate Holder.

1) If it was a felony to jaywalk, I wouldn't ever jaywalk. If I thought the punishment didn't fit the crime, I would do all I could to change the law, but I wouldn't jaywalk. The "law isn't fair" is not an excuse when they all knew of the consequences.
2) Same thing for the Feds. If their arrests were deemed excessive, then they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
3) The laws should be enforced both ways. If the laws regarding the taking of "some old pots" are too severe, work to change them. To me, they seem fair though, but I only have one vote.

Very collectivist views on this subject. A little communism goes a long way.

Have you ever been pulled over by a cop? For the most part we all have. One version, the most common one, the office walks up, asks for drivers license, registration, etc. Normal, no fuss and you get a ticket.

I once got pulled over for speeding on I-15 by an off duty SL City SWAT team member. He drug me from the car, slammed me on the hood, threatened to arrest me, made we wait 30 minutes, etc and once a regular Highway Patrolman showed up left, ranting like some Hollywood moron. The Highway Patrolman rolled his eyes, apologized for me having to deal with an idiot and asked me to not drive so fast.

When two people kill themselves for "stealing" from my collectivist/communist buddies, worth a $1,000 I can only guess we have some idiot cops and prosecutors acting out some movie lines. And some big prosecutor essentially trying to get noticed by the big wig national folks, playing up to his collectivist/communist friends of Washington DC.

This is SSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOO over the top! Someone should be fired!

I wonder if Ken Salazar will continue to show up at press conferences in his silly hat and string tie. Perhaps he'll finally realize that charging someone with violating a federal law is a very serious matter.

some are druggies, some have made a profession out this, some have given into lust and greed. But to say old pots and forsaken land...to cover others sin is a sin as i understand it. these people show no remorse what so ever in throwing the book at the indeginous and that is verifyable on record. There are natives who sitting in a cell whereas another was let to walk because of a name. Notice how they down play the contribution of the Native American while even admonishing these CRIMINALS AS some kind of western heroes or saints...well in the game of criminality in America on American soil for which my forefathers died...if you play you pay..this isn't about arrowheads just read the affadavit...the community is one with a very intricate grapevine through relationships ...many of these people were quick to display and brag about their finds. If there were any in the community through relation or knowledge they should have admonished what the church leaders do every sunday ..do what is right ..and the consequences are following..so don't make me divert the truth from my family. We live and know!!

The report leaves a lot of questions in my mind if this man and the doctor were suicides or murder to keep them from exposing others involved in the black market.

This is new suicide is like saying a man stabbed himself to death with 20 strokes of a knife. I can't believe a person can sit and shoot themselves many times.

It sounds like this story is more far reaching than the 24 arrested and a clean up crew is eliminating any exposure of contacts up the line. While Feds were concentrating on the immediate sources and distributors, others are making sure they remain anonymous.

Seems more like a curse...

If you have ever been involved in the court system in any way you know that you get victimized first by the other side and then you get pillaged by your lawyer.You had better have 50 to 100 thousand dollars on hand in order to get justice, otherwise you will lose. The fact is , you lose no matter what happens. No wonder people commit suicide rather than go through possible jail terms, financial ruin, or both.
Another thing you will find out quickly is how goofy the judges we have in Utah can be, some of their decisions are so off the wall it is like going to Vegas and spinning the roulette wheel to decide the outcome of your case. I understand how these two men feel, it is tragic that our system is what it is.

I'm glad you're in favor of the police state ideal. I can't wait until the heavy hand of the law comes down on you. Don't worry, though. We'll be standing by shouting back to your calls of mercy that you need to "HONOR, OBEY, AND SUSTAIN THE LAW."

Why do you simple minded people have to quote silly scripture...

Laws are MADE UP! By people. There is no equivalency to gravity here people.

This stuff is never worth a persons life. Back when the original owners, the Indians, had it they discarded it for being junk. Now just because someone says it is sacred and valuable it changes into gold? Wrong

We need the feds to stay the heck out of Utah.

The Federal government can only own and control D.C. area, Post offices, post roads, and military bases and buildings. (See Constitution article 1 section 8) So who broke the law first? Why is there no outrage and punishment against "federal ownership of lands" in the first place? Why aren't the Feds being stormed by "law enforcement"? Constitutionally the feds can't own or control the land within a state's borders. Teddy Roosevelt who championed this "law" in 1906 that people have so-called broken and the congress at the time defied the constitution by passing the law in the first place.

To Old Pots?...VERY CALLOUS. And, you don't KNOW that these are criminals. We haven't seen the evidence yet.

I don't believe in breaking the law and those who have, should be prosecuted. However, after learning more information, I'm beginning to believe this might be a case of entrapment. Also, I am hearing that the evidence isn't that strong. Time will tell, but this "agent" was going around the area offering unbelievably high prices for artifacts--people just started going through their cabinets and pulling out anything they had to sell. Much of this stuff came off private property which is legal.

The Feds have used way excessive force. They held Mrs. Redd in handcuffs in her house for hours and then took her and her husband in seperate cages to Moab. Suspects were verbally abused and terrorized by having guns pointed at them when they offered no resistance.

I really think that Salazar used this as a chance to grandstand...and I also think the overzealous Feds have SOME responsibility in the suicides of two men. I hope they think really hard about it.