Man act
The Mann Act is a federal law of the United States that went into effect June 25, 1910 and is named after the American politician James Robert Mann . This law prohibits transferring minors from one state to another for “immoral” purposes with intentions that are not prohibited in the second state but are prohibited in the first state.
The law was originally intended to regulate trade between the states, in particular prostitution - the so-called "white slave traffic". The US government uses the transportation law as a detour because prostitution and sex crimes are state law, but transportation across federal borders falls under federal law. The FBI is responsible for prosecuting violations of this law .
The first person convicted under the Mann Act was world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson . He is believed to have encouraged a prostitute to leave the brothel where she worked and to travel with him to another state. Lucille Cameron refused to testify against him and later married him. The public prosecutor's office built up a new indictment at great expense. This time the witness was the prostitute Belle Schreiber. Although Johnson had helped her to the brothel leave , before the entry into force of the Mann Act, he was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. In 1961, singer Chuck Berry was also sentenced to imprisonment for the Mann Act.
Web links
- The Man Act - Allegations of Racism
- Criminal Resource Manual (English)
- Commentary on the law by Prof. Tunick (English)
- The Mann Act - definition in: West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group
Single references
- ^ "Mann Act." Dictionary of American History. 2003. encyclopedia.com. October 21, 2013