Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

KRS 509.040

Kidnapping

Applied in 69 court decisions — leading case McClellan v. Commonwealth (1986)

Most recently applied in Pearlie Gambrel v. Knox Cnty., Ky. (February 2022)

Effective: July 15, 2002 History: Amended 2002 Ky

How often courts cite this section

197719801990200020102020202250
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) A person is guilty of kidnapping when he unlawfully restrains another person and when his intent is:

(a) To hold him for ransom or reward; or (b) To accomplish or to advance the commission of a felony; or (c) To inflict bodily injury or to terrorize the victim or another; or (d) To interfere with the performance of a governmental or political function; or (e) To use him as a shield or hostage; or (f) To deprive the parents or guardian of the custody of a minor, when the person taking the minor is not a person exercising custodial control or supervision of the minor as the term "person exercising custodial control or supervision" is defined in KRS 600.020.

(2) Kidnapping is a Class B felony when the victim is released alive and in a safe place prior to trial, except as provided in this section. Kidnapping is a Class A felony when the victim is released alive but the victim has suffered serious physical injury during the kidnapping, or as a result of not being released in a safe place, or as a result of being released in any circumstances which are intended, known or should have been known to cause or lead to serious physical injury. Kidnapping is a capital offense when the victim is not released alive or when the victim is released alive but subsequently dies as a result of:

(a) Serious physical injuries suffered during the kidnapping; or (b) Not being released in a safe place; or (c) Being released in any circumstances which are intended, known or should have been known to cause or lead to the victim's death.

Official source: Kentucky General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Kentucky statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.