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 Mississippi, kidnapping is defined under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-53. The statute outlines that kidnapping occurs when a person, without lawful authority and with the intent to cause another to be secretly confined or imprisoned against their will, forcibly seizes and confines, inveigles, or kidnaps another person. Aggravated kidnapping is not specifically defined as a separate offense in Mississippi; however, the severity of the offense and the presence of aggravating factors, such as those involving children under 14, demanding ransom, causing serious bodily injury or death, carjacking, using the victim as a shield or hostage, or using a deadly weapon, can lead to enhanced penalties under the state's kidnapping statute or other relevant laws. Mississippi law also addresses the abduction of children by parents or relatives under the state's custodial interference statutes, which can be found in Section 97-5-39 of the Mississippi Code. These laws make it a crime for a parent or relative to wrongfully take or entice a child away from their lawful custodian. The specific circumstances of the case, including the relationship between the kidnapper and the victim, can influence the charges and defenses available.