Federal Kidnapping Act
|Enacted by||the 72nd United States Congress|
|Statutes at Large||47 Stat. 326, Chapter 271|
|Titles amended||18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure|
|U.S.C. sections created||Chapter 55 § 1201|
Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping (the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's toddler son), the United States Congress adopted a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1) (popularly known as the Lindbergh Law, or Little Lindbergh Law)—which was intended to let federal authorities step in and pursue kidnappers once they had crossed state lines with their victim. The Act became law in 1932.
The theory behind the Lindbergh Law was that federal law enforcement intervention was necessary because state and local law enforcement officers could not effectively pursue kidnappers across state lines. Since federal law enforcement, such as FBI agents, have national law enforcement authority, Congress believed they could do a much more effective job of dealing with kidnappings than could state, county, and local authorities.
Several states implemented their own versions of this law, known as "Little Lindbergh" laws, covering acts of kidnapping that did not cross state lines. In some states, if the victim was physically harmed in any manner, the crime qualified for capital punishment. This was what occurred in the Caryl Chessman case in California. Following the death penalty law revisions by the United States Supreme Court during the 1970s, kidnapping alone no longer constitutes a capital offense.
A provision of the law provides exception for parents who abduct their own minor children.