US-CA11 · jury_instructions
11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) O31.1
Mailing Threatening Communications
18 U.S.C. § 876 (First Paragraph)
It’s a Federal crime to knowingly use the United States mail to send
someone a demand or request for a reward or ransom in return for the release of a
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 or caused to be sent through the
United States Mail a demand or request for a ransom or reward for
the release of a kidnapped person; and
(2) the Defendant did so with the intent to extort money or some other
thing of value.
To act with “intent to extort” means to act with the purpose of obtaining
money or something of value from someone who consents because of fear or
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’s
tangible or not.
The heart of the crime is intentionally sending something through the United
States mail in order to extort something of value for the release of a kidnapping
victim. The Government doesn’t have to prove that the Defendant participated in a
kidnapping or succeeded in obtaining the money or any other thing of value.
Provenance
- Source
- ca11.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- criminal-2025-09
- Content hash
0d8b02e81182a4e4d1f23189db4752c22409281242676ba8de09da2ebed8ea0a
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