There are many different situations that could be construed as kidnapping. The key to all of these situations is that a person has to be taken to a location without his or her consent. In some cases, such as parental kidnapping, the victim might be willing to go, but he or she is taken without proper approval.
For people who are facing kidnapping charges, determining how to prepare a defense takes a lot of thought. One of the things that must be done is determining what elements must be present for the crime under the law that is being used as the basis of the case. In some cases, the person who is moved without his or her consent will have to be held captive in order for a kidnapping charge to be levied.
Federal and state kidnapping laws differ some, so you must find out which of these matters in your case. Kidnapping under federal law can land you in prison for 20 years, so this is a very serious crime.
Some of the defense options that are possible in these cases include claiming that the person willingly went with you or insanity. This isn’t something that is possible to claim in the case of parental kidnapping; however, if you are accused of kidnapping an adult, this might be viable.
You should make sure that you think carefully about how to approach this type of charge. In some instances, the kidnapping is associated with other charges, such as the use of force or threats of violence. This could make coming up with a defense a bit more difficult, but it isn’t going to be impossible.
Source: FindLaw, “Kidnapping,” accessed Sep. 21, 2017
