astro
July 26, 2003, 4:49pm
1
Per this somewhat bizarre news item -
Charge: Father, daughter married - Authorities accuse couple of illegal incestuous union
A Mobile County grand jury has said that a Theodore husband and wife may really be father and daughter and ought to be tried for incest.
Carrol Eugene Ferdinandsen, 53, and Alice Faye Ferdinandsen, 30, were arrested Thursday and charged with incest and fraud in connection with their May 2 marriage in a civil ceremony in Mobile County. They were indicted in June.
According to Mobile County court records, Alice was the third child of Carrol and Shirley Faye Ferdinandsen, and her mother filed for divorce when Alice was only 4 months old. Her mother said Thursday that she later met and married Charles Stewart, who Alice listed as her father on her marriage license application.
Up to that point, Alice had used “Ferdinandsen” as her last name, according to court records.
Incestuous marriages are forbidden in all states, in part due to fears about genetic mutation and child abuse. They still occur, though rarely, according to a survey of news articles from around the country.
Out of curiosity as the article is unclear on this, is is the purportedly incestous marriage itself that’s specifically illegal or would they still be legally liable if they had incestous realtions (as adults) and made babies but never got married?
This is Alabama, right? The Alabama penal code says:
Section 13A-13-3
(1) His ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption; or
(2) His brother or sister of the whole or half-blood or by adoption; or
(3) His stepchild or stepparent, while the marriage creating the relationship exists; or
(4) His aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the whole or half-blood.
(b) A person shall not be convicted of incest or of an attempt to commit incest upon the uncorroborated testimony of the person with whom the offense is alleged to have been committed.
© Incest is a Class C felony.
IOW, it could get you into jail.
Hope that doesn’t dent your plans, astro
astro
July 26, 2003, 7:21pm
4
Naaah… though in reading Schnitte’s response the lyrics to “I’m my own Grandpa” do come to mind.
Shade
July 26, 2003, 9:42pm
5
You can’t do it with an adopted sibling? There’s no genetic link there. Oh well, hope it never comes up
The portion of the Alabama statute referring to sexual intercourse may be essentially unenforceable after the most recent sodomy law reversal of the US Supreme Court. The portion referring to marriage could still stand, though.
DC&H, any comment from a pro?
