Lindbergh Kidnapping Law Law and Legal Definition
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Law is a federal law that makes it a crime to kidnap for ransom, reward, or otherwise and transport a victim from one state to another or to a foreign country, except in the case of a minor abducted by his or her parent. The law is named after Charles Lindbergh Jr., twenty-month old son of aviator hero Charles A. Lindbergh, who was kidnapped from his New Jersey country home. A month later, the Lindbergh family paid $50,000 in ransom through an intermediary, but the baby, whose body was finally found in May, was not returned. In response, Congress passed the Lindbergh Kidnapping Law of 1932.The Lindbergh law provides that if the victim is not released within twenty-four hours after being kidnapped, there is a rebuttable presumption that s/he has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. The punishment for violation of the Lindbergh Act is imprisonment for a term of years or for life.
