Kidnapping is a crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force or Fraud, or seizing and detaining a person against his or her will with an intent to carry that person away at a later time. The term kidnapping was originally “kid nabbing” and referred to the stealing of a child. Under common law, “abduction” was the term used for the kidnapping of a woman. Today, the word kidnapping is used to refer to the taking away or asportation of a person against the person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority. A majority of jurisdictions in the United States retain the "asportation" element for kidnapping, where the victim must be confined in a bounded area against their will and moved. Any amount of movement will suffice for the requirement, even if it is moving the abductee to a house next door. There is no requirement that a person cross interstate lines to be guilty of kidnapping.

Under common law kidnapping was only a misdemeanor, but in most states of the United States it is now punishable by death or life imprisonment if there are no extenuating circumstances. The practice of kidnapping, in the wider and not strictly legal sense, has been known since the beginnings of history. It was common as a method for procuring slaves, and it has also been employed by brigands and revolutionaries to obtain money through ransom or to hold hostages whose safe release was dependent on the freeing of political prisoners.

A charge of kidnapping is a very serious matter. The punishment for kidnapping, depending on the circumstances, can range from three years to life in prison. The circumstances of each situation have an enormous impact on the nature of the charges and the likelihood of a conviction. It is important to find an attorney who understands the law and the criminal justice system in order to protect legal rights. A person who is convicted of kidnapping is usually sentenced to prison for a certain number of years. In some states, and at the federal level, the term of imprisonment may be the remainder of the offender's natural life. In jurisdictions that authorize the death penalty, a kidnapper is charged with a capital offense if the kidnapping results in death. Kidnapping is so severely punished because it is a dreaded offense. It usually occurs in connection with another criminal offense, or underlying crime. It involves violent deprivation of liberty, and it requires a special criminal boldness. Furthermore, the act of moving a crime victim exposes the victim to risks above and beyond those that are inherent in the underlying crime.