Kidnapping; defense · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 135.30 Kidnapping; defense.
In any prosecution for kidnapping, it is an affirmative defense that (a) the defendant was a relative of the person abducted, and (b) his sole purpose was to assume control of such person.
In a kidnapping prosecution, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant was the abducted person’s relative and acted solely to assume control of that person. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.