Abduction

“ Four elements are essential in an abduction in order to induce thereby the Tridentine diriment impediment, to wit: (1) a woman; (2) change of locality; (3) violence; (4) matrimonial intent.
(1) Any woman, whether moral or immoral, maid or widow, betrothed or not, even a public woman, may be the object of a violent Abduction inducing the Tridentine impediment and punishment. Lessius, Avancini, and others hold that a man is not guilty of abduction who carries off his betrothed. The Council of Trent makes no exception, hence we should not. ”

“ Sir Timothy, who had lit his cigarette, presented a wholly undisturbed front.
“What I cannot quite understand,” he said, “is the exact meaning of that word 'abduction.' Why should I be suspected of forcibly removing a harmless and worthy young man from his regular avocation, and, as you term it, abducting him, which I presume means keeping him bound and gagged and imprisoned? I do not eat young men. I do not even care for the society of young men. ”

“ In all the country round the abduction of Norberto Garcia was called “the abduction by enchanters,”—so sudden had been the attack, so complete the disappearance of the victim. Beyond the immediate scene no trace remained of the act,—it seemed that the very earth must have opened to swallow the perpetrators; and yet day by day proofs of their existence were found in letters left upon the very saddle crossed by the father, or upon the pillow wet with the tears of the mother, demanding ransom which each day became more exorbitant, accompanied by threats more and more ingenious and horrible. ”

“ It is surely nothing less than an inversion of the natural order of things to suppose that the numerous class of folk-tales which deal with the abduction of a girl or wife originated in the type—a comparatively rare type—in which this motif is applied to the sun. There can be no reasonable doubt that the prevalence of such folk-tales is due to the innumerable occurrences of abduction in real life. ”

“ Only once or twice, when he has lost himself in the excited recounting of his adventures, of his hardy old crimes, of the Cudahy kidnapping, have I ever caught in him the quality that must once have been his—the force, the fire that made his name shudder around the world. Convention has beaten him as it beats them all, these brave and baneful men. It has made a sidling apologist of a great rogue in Crowe’s case—and what a sad declension!
IX THE WHITLA KIDNAPPING
Abduction is always a puzzling crime. ”

“ Abduction considered as a matrimonial impediment is a violent taking away of any woman whatsoever, chaste or unchaste, from a place free and safe to a morally different place, and there detaining her in the power of her abductor until he has coerced her into consenting to marry him. Abduction as a crime is of wider scope than is the impediment, inasmuch as the former includes man-captors and intent to gratify lust, both of which are excluded from the scope of the impediment. ”

“ The fact that kidnapping persists in spite of these recognized discouragements probably accounts for the proneness of policemen and citizens to interpret into every abduction case some moving force other than mere hope of gain. ”

“ Others joined the controversy by pointing out in the newspapers that abductions were sometimes motivated by revenge or spite on the part of persons quite unknown or unsuspected by the parents; that children were often stolen by irrational or demented men or women, and that there was at least some basis for faith in the abduction theory, but no evidence to support the idea of a runaway. ”

“ I am sorry to say that cases of abduction of young men and boys is sadly on the increase, and should be dealt with a firm hand. It is really a disgrace to a civilised country like this that such things should be possible. ”

“ The Department of Justice estimates that more than 50,000 children will be victims of nonfamily abductions each year. While the rate of recovery in such kidnappings is approximately 99 percent, the trauma of abduction affects far too many. No young person in America should ever know the terror of abduction, and no family should ever have to experience the nightmare of having a loved one suddenly taken. ”

“ Reducing the facts to their essentials and then trying to reason, the possibilities became a very general preoccupation. The deductive steps may be briefly set down. First, there were the alternative propositions of voluntary or involuntary absence, of hiding or abduction. Second, if the theory of forced absence was to be entertained, there were only two general possibilities—abduction for ransom or kidnapping by some maniac. The ideas of murder, detention for revenge, and the like, come under the latter head. ”

“ Abduction.—Abduction may be considered as a public crime and a matrimonial diriment impediment. Viewed as a crime, it is a carrying off by force, physical or moral, of any virtuous woman, or even man, from a free and safe place to another place morally different and neither free nor safe from the captor's power, with intent to marry her or to gratify lust. ”

“ The abduction must not be known. All search, all surmises, all hope, even, must be cut short. Mlle. de Saint-Véran must pass for dead. There is a mock murder: proofs are supplied for the police inquiries. ”

“ Abduction by seduction, as defined is held by Roman law to be abduction by violence inasmuch as violence can be offered to the woman and her parents simultaneously, or to the woman alone, or to the parents and guardians alone; and in the elopement, while no violence is done to the woman, violence is done to the parents or guardians. ”

“ As far as regards the Capitulary of Charlemagne, which fixes the compensation for abduction, I have not mentioned it because I am sure that you must remember it. So, my dear Monsieur de Gabry, you see abduction was considered as decidedly a punishable offense under the three dynasties of Old France. It is a very great mistake to suppose that the Middle Ages represent a period of social chaos. ”

“ It is no defense to a charge of abduction that the elopement was with the consent of the female and at her request, and the burden of proof as to the chastity of the woman abducted, in an indictment, is upon the defendant.
Any parent or guardian or person having charge or custody of a female such as is mentioned by the preceding paragraphs, who permits or encourages or abets in the commission of the crimes above set forth can be punished the same as the person who actually seduces the girl. ”

“ Abduction is the rule rather than the exception; but for all the anxiety shown to possess them, the women have a wretched time, being hardly allowed to stir out of their dingy poverty-stricken cabins. ”

“ The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 made still more stringent provisions with reference to abduction by making the procuration or attempted procuration of any virtuous female under the age of twenty-one years a misdemeanour, as well as the abduction of any girl under eighteen years of age with the intent that she shall be carnally known, or the detaining of any female against her will on any premises, with intent to have, or that another person may have, carnal knowledge of her. ”

“ It is abduction. It is a crime you have committed, punishable by long imprisonment.”
“I have been Mademoiselle’s jailer, not her abductor. And when one is poor and in need of money!” He shrugged.
“I will give you a thousand francs for the 113 name and address of the man who instigated this outrage.” ”

“ Nothing except a natural cataclysm is so excitant of mass terror as the first suggestion that there are child-stealers abroad. What fevers and rages of the public temper may result from such crimes will be seen from some of what follows. The most celebrated instance is, of course, the affair of Charlie Ross of Philadelphia, which carries us back more than half a century. We have here the classic American kidnapping case, already a tradition, rich in all the elements that make the perfect abduction tale. ”

“ In Europe we find that even up to comparatively recent times the abduction of women was not only very common, but was often more or less recognized. In England it was not until Henry VII's time that the violent seizure of a woman was made a criminal offense, and even then the statute was limited to women possessed of lands and goods. ”

“ Evidently she had prepared the note at that time and had been planning the abduction with foresight and care. People at once reached the conclusion that she was one of the agents of a great band of professional kidnappers. Accordingly every child and every mother in the city stood in peril.
To indicate the nature of the official search, we may as well reproduce Chief of Police Devery’s proclamation:
“Arrest for abduction—Carrie Jones, twenty-one years of age, five feet two inches tall, dark hair and eyes, pale face, high check bones, teeth prominent in lower jaw, American by birth ”

“ It was not unknown to the ancient Greeks, and it was common in many of the semi-civilised countries of Asia; but at no time did this custom prevent the forcible abduction of a woman being regarded as the most exasperating insult one man or one tribe could offer to another. And it is so with the blacks. If anyone will take the trouble to enquire concerning the cause of most of their bitterest tribal quarrels, he will find they generally arise from the forcible abduction of women. ”

“ However, such work is as necessary for the progress of science and the conservation of life and health in others as the terrible task of procuring the necessary subjects was then—when the tables of anatomical theatres and dissecting-rooms depended mostly, if not solely, on the results of felony—often of murder—and the abduction of the tenants of the tear-bedewed grave—an abduction in many instances, happily, never known to relatives. ”

“ The news awaiting him on his return had been disquieting. No direct clue as to her whereabouts had been found, although there was plenty of evidence to show that the abduction had been the work of brigands from the hills. ”

“ The abduction or unlawfully taking away an unmarried girl under sixteen out of the possession and against the will of her father or mother, or any other person having the lawful care or charge of her, is a misdemeanour under the same act. ”

“ Mere importunities, fair words, sweet phrases, gifts, and promises are not sufficient to constitute the moral force requisite for abduction. It is immaterial whether the principal, of and by himself, or through his agents and accomplices, uses this force, moral or physical. Women as the agents of the principal, may exercise it, and not infrequently do so.
(4) Matrimonial Intent.—The intention or motive of the criminal act is all important. To induce the impediment the intent must be to marry the abducted woman. Were the motive other than marriage, e.g. ”

“ Whoever shall abduct the child of a free man, and be found out, shall be fined twenty rolls or pieces (gajahilaw) of calico (siddip) or its value.5 The abductor shall return the child. A bail also is required which shall be equal in character and value to the abducted child.
Sec. 2. If the abductor of a free person is a slave, the master of the slave shall be examined to find out whether or not the abduction was committed with his knowledge and consent. In case he says that it was done without his knowledge and consent he must be sworn on the Quran. ”

“ Abduc′tion, a legal term, generally applied to denote the offence of carrying off a female either forcibly or by fraudulent representations. Such a delinquency in regard to a man is styled kidnapping. There are various descriptions of abduction recognized in criminal jurisprudence, such as that of a child, of an heiress, or of a wife.
Ab′dul-Az′iz, Sultan of Turkey, was born in Feb., 1830, and succeeded his brother Abdul-Mejid, in June, 1861. He concluded treaties of commerce with France and England, both of which countries he visited in 1867. ”

“ It is well known that child snatchers almost never succeed with this part of the business. The cases in which the kidnapper has actually got the ransom and made off without being caught and punished are so thinly strewn upon the long record that any criminal who ever takes the trouble to peruse it must shrink with fear from such offenses. Finally, it is familiar knowledge among police officers that professional criminals usually are aware of this fact and consequently both dread and abhor abductions. ”

“ Expresses its strong condemnation of all forms of violence, including, inter alia, murder, rape and sexual assault, intimidation, armed robbery, abduction, hostage-taking, kidnapping, harassment and illegal arrest and detention to which those participating in humanitarian operations are increasingly exposed, as well as attacks on humanitarian convoys and acts of destruction and looting of their property ”

“ NO case of a similar nature ever excited one quarter of the degree of interest which was produced by the extraordinary abduction of Miss Turner, a wealthy heiress, and the daughter of Mr. Turner, a gentleman of the highest respectability living at Shrigley in the county of Cheshire, by Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The notoriety of the case renders it unnecessary for us to do more than to give a general history of the circumstances attending the abduction, and the final termination of the proceedings against the defendants, Mr. ”

“ But almost without exception these addicts are men and women of importance and influence, either through position or wealth.”
“Can you connect them in any way with the abductions?” I asked.
“No. Not definitely. In fact, not at all, except by inference through the facts peculiar to both. But the very fact that we cannot get anything on any of these people, either the people who supply these drugs or the abductors, goes to prove that there is an extraordinary power and skill in organization behind each gang. ”