illegally imprisonment - Haiti Observer Blog

Haiti has been ranked 12th in the most corrupt countries across the world based on Transparency International, in part because, for many prisoners, the opportunity of getting their cases heard before the courts actually means waiting for several years. The end result of arrest, trail, conviction or release all boils down to money.

There are multiple reasons why cases often do not get processed according to Brian Concannon, director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy. One of the biggest problems is insufficient resources. Another is because of an outdated system. However, the biggest problem is the high rate of pre-trial detention which fuels the market for bribes.

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Criminal law defines the act of kidnapping as the taking by force a victim, and keeping them illegally imprisoned. In the U.S., a considerable number of child kidnappings occur as the result of a custody battle. If the child gives their consent to be taken from the custodial parent, and the child is considered competent, certain jurisdictions do not define it as a kidnapping.

The U.S. kidnapping law derives from Britain's common law. In 1932, Charles and Anne Lindbergh lost their child to a kidnapper. The outcome of this world-wide publicized event was the passage of the Federal Kidnapping Act, giving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the authority to investigate kidnapping incidents. This federal law states if the kidnapper takes the child beyond state borders, the crime can be federally prosecuted.

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