Philadelphia Kidnapping Lawyer

Kidnapping is defined as taking and holding someone against their will. In Pennsylvania your intentions, and whether or not the victim came with you willingly, are factors that also come into play. Every case is unique, and if you are charged with kidnapping your side of the story needs to come out clearly.

Kidnapping is a felony of the first degree, the most serious of crimes, and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. If you have been questioned by the police or arrested, it’s essential that you immediately retain an experienced defense attorney who understands kidnapping law.

What You Need To Know About Kidnapping

In Pennsylvania, kidnapping is unlawfully removing a person from one place and taking them to another, and then confining them in isolation with one or more of these intentions:

• Ransom or reward, or as a hostage shield.
• To facilitate a felony, or flight from a felony.
• To inflict injury on them, or to terrorize the alleged victim or someone else.
• To interfere with the performance of government or political officials.

If the alleged victim went along voluntarily, then it is not kidnapping.

For it to be kidnapping, the offender needed to use force, threats or deception to move the victim.

What To Do If You Are Charged

If you are charged with kidnapping, do not anger the arresting officer unnecessarily.

You will probably be held in jail overnight. At this stage, do not discuss what happened with the police or claim your innocence.

• As with most criminal charges, you should not talk to the police or prosecutors without your attorney by your side. What you say can be taken out of context and used against you.
• If the police question you, tell them you want a lawyer and politely refuse to answer their questions.

What Your Lawyer Can Do

Your attorney will carefully review every aspect of your case to determine if there is evidence for all you have been accused of.

• Your attorney will investigate to find out if there is evidence that the alleged victim came with you willingly.
• The attorney will examine whether or not you actually used force, threats or deception in the kidnapping.
• If it is a you-said/they-said situation, where the only evidence against you is an accusation, you will be in a stronger position.
• Your lawyer will make every effort to discredit any evidence not in your favor.
• If the case goes to court, your lawyer will try to prove to the jury that you did not have any of the intentions to kidnap, such as obtaining a ransom, facilitating a felony or to terrorize.

Your Philadelphia kidnapping attorney will be looking at every avenue that can help you, so it’s important that you give them all of the information that can support your case.

How A Philadelphia Kidnapping Lawyer Will Help

When you are up against a kidnapping charge, even before your first hearing you will be facing a determined prosecutor and Pennsylvania’s stiff laws against kidnapping. You need an attorney who will stand by you every step of the way, work hard to discredit any evidence – and work with you to determine your best course of action.

Pennsylvania Kidnapping Law

Kidnapping is described and defined under The Pennsylvania Criminal Code under Title 18, Chapter 29. Read the code here.