A person generally commits the criminal offense of kidnapping by using force or other means of instilling fear to steal, take, hold, detain, abduct, or arrest a person and take them to another location. A person of any age may be a victim of kidnapping.

And a person generally commits the criminal offense of aggravated kidnapping if the person (1) uses force, fear, or fraud upon a victim who is a child under 14 years of age; (2) accompanies the kidnapping with a demand for ransom; (3) causes the victim to suffer serious bodily injury or death; (4) kidnaps a person during a carjacking; (5) uses the victim as a shield or hostage; or (6) exhibits or uses a deadly weapon during the course of the kidnapping.

Kidnapping laws vary from state to state, including definitions and affirmative defenses, such as whether the person taken is related to the kidnapper. Some states have child abduction laws that apply to the abduction of children by parents or relatives when the child is not moved a significant distance (out of county or state). Kidnapping laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Alabama, kidnapping is defined under Alabama Code Title 13A. Criminal Code § 13A-6-43. The statute outlines that a person commits the offense of kidnapping in the first degree if they abduct another person with intent to hold that person for ransom or reward, use them as a shield or hostage, commit a felony involving the victim, inflict physical injury upon the victim, sexually abuse the victim, or terrorize the victim or a third person. Kidnapping in the second degree, under § 13A-6-44, occurs when the abduction is with intent to interfere with a governmental or political function or to perform any act that injures or advances the abductor's own interest. Aggravated circumstances, such as abducting a child under 14 years of age or causing serious bodily injury, can elevate the crime to first-degree kidnapping, which is a Class A felony. Second-degree kidnapping is a Class B felony. Alabama law also recognizes parental kidnapping under § 13A-6-45, which occurs when a parent abducts their own child under certain circumstances, such as taking the child from the lawful custodian when they do not have the legal right to do so. The laws in Alabama are specific to the state and may differ from those in other states, both in terms of definitions and penalties.