11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) O30.1

for Return of a Kidnapped Person

18 U.S.C. § 875(a)

It’s a Federal crime to knowingly send in interstate or foreign commerce a

demand or request for a reward or ransom for the release of any kidnapped person.

The Defendant can be found guilty of this crime only if all the following

facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) the Defendant knowingly sent in [interstate] [foreign] commerce a

demand or request for a ransom or reward for the kidnapped

person’s release; and

(2) the Defendant did so with the intent to extort money or some other

thing of value.

[To send something in “interstate commerce” means to transmit it from a

place in one state to a place in another state.]

[To send something in “foreign commerce” means to transmit it from a place

in the United States to anyplace outside the United States.]

To act with “intent to extort” means to act with the purpose of getting money

or something of value from someone who consents because of the wrongful use of

actual or threatened force or violence.

A “thing of value” is anything that has value to the Defendant, whether it is

tangible or not.

A kidnapped person is someone who is forcibly and unlawfully held, kept,

or imprisoned against his or her will.

The heart of the crime is the sending of a message in interstate or foreign

commerce to extort something of value in return for the release of a kidnapped

victim. The Government doesn’t have to prove that the Defendant participated in

the kidnapping or succeeded in obtaining money or any other thing of value.