Federal Kidnapping Act

Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping (the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's toddler son), the United States Congress passed 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 was first proposed in December 1931 by Missouri Senator Roscoe Conkling Patterson, who pointed to several recent kidnappings in the Missouri area in calling for a federal solution. Initial resistance to Patterson's proposal was based on concerns over funding and state's rights. Consideration of the law was revived following the kidnapping of Howard Woolverton in late January 1932. Woolverton's kidnapping featured prominently in several newspaper series researched and prepared in the weeks following his abduction, and were quite possibly inspired by it. Two such projects, by Bruce Catton of the Newspaper Enterprise Association and Fred Pasley of the Daily News of New York City, were ready for publication within a day or two of the Lindbergh kidnapping. Both series, which ran in papers across North America, described kidnapping as an existential threat to American life, a singular, growing crime wave in which no one was safe.

Following the discovery of Baby Lindbergh's body not far from his home, the act became law in summer 1932. In 1934, the act was amended to provide exception for parents who abduct their own minor children and made a death sentence possible in cases where the victim was not released unharmed.

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 and U.S. Marshals, 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. There is a rebuttable presumption of transportation in interstate or foreign commerce if the victim is not released within 24 hours. Additionally, it is likewise an offense to conspire or attempt to violate the statute. There is also extraterritorial jurisdiction if the offense is against an internationally protected person.

Only one person, Arthur Gooch, was executed for a federal kidnapping conviction in a case where the victim did not die. Under the current statute, the victim must die for the crime to become a capital offense. Barring a permitted departure from federal guidelines, kidnapping resulting in death now carries a mandatory life sentence if the perpetrator is an adult. In addition, the law mandates a minimum of 20 years in prison if the victim is a minor and the perpetrator is an adult and not a family member.

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 April 8, 1968 decision by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Jackson, kidnapping alone no longer constitutes a capital offense.