LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Kidnapping: Laws
built 645 days ago
US considers intervention in Colombia2/23/03Observer, UK:"The United States is considering direct military intervention in Colombia for the first time following the murder of an American and the kidnapping of three others, all suspected CIA agents. The US embassy in Colombia has recommended Washington make a 'major response' to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebels responsible, and American officials have confirmed that military action is being considered to recover the men from the dense jungles of the southern province of Caqueta… Washington has refused to release any information about the men, entrenching the belief that they were CIA agents on a surveillance mission… For the people of Caqueta, the prospect of a US military incursion into the province is yet another nightmare. In the past year, since the collapse of the peace process, they have seen the suspension of local government and are living under a form of martial law. Scores of ordinary people have been tortured and murdered by right-wing paramilitaries and they face a constant campaign of bombing and kidnapping by the Farc."
Source:
Ironically, the three men accused of actually kidnapping and bringing about the death of Hedayat Eslaminia are no longer defendants. Charges against Joe Hunt, the BBC's charismatic leader, were dismissed after a San Mateo County jury deadlocked in his trial. Charges were subsequently dismissed against Jim Pittman, the BBC's muscle man and enforcer, who recently died. And Karny, who studied law, took and passed the California Bar examination, has been free for 16 years. Hunt continues to serve life without possibility of parole for the murder of Ron Levin of Beverly Hills, a reputed con man who failed to come through on a deal with the BBC.
Source:
Under common law kidnapping was only a misdemeanor, but in most states of the United States it is now punishable by death or life imprisonment if there are no extenuating circumstances. The kidnapping and murder of the son of Charles A. Lindbergh in 1932 led to a federal statute prescribing severe penalties for transporting the victims of kidnapping across state or national boundaries. The practice of kidnapping, in the wider and not strictly legal sense, has been known since the beginnings of history. It was common as a method for procuring slaves, and it has ... been employed by brigands and revolutionaries to obtain money through ransom or to hold hostages whose safe release was dependent on the freeing of political prisoners.
Source:
A charge of kidnapping is a very serious matter. The punishment for kidnapping, depending on the circumstances, can range from three years to life in prison. The California child abduction attorney at the Law Offices of Timothy B. Rien Law Offices of Timothy B. Rien --> has the experience to defend the accused against charges of kidnapping. Prosecutors take these cases seriously. People who have been charged should take their defense just as seriously. Criminal defense attorney Timothy B. Rien can help.
Source:
Many states have enacted special laws for car-jacking, a specialized form of kidnapping. Generally, car-jacking occurs when one person forces a driver out of the driver's seat and steals the vehicle. Car-jacking is a felony whether the aggressor keeps the victim in the car or forces the victim from the car. In California, a car-jacking statute is contained within the penal code's chapter on kidnapping, and it authorizes a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for a person found guilty of car-jacking (Cal. Penal Code § 209.5 [West]).
Source:
In the past, and presently in some parts of the world (such as southern Sudan), kidnapping is a common means used to obtain slaves and money through ransom. In more recent times, kidnapping in the form of shanghaiing (or "pressganging") men was used to supply merchant ships in the 19th century with sailors, whom the law considered unfree labour.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Laws