Crime
Man who buried busload of children in 1976 approved for parole
Frederick Woods and his accomplices kidnapped and buried a busload of children alive in 1976. He was originally made eligible for parole in 1980 by State Appeals Court Judge William Newsom, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's late father.
March 30, 2022 2:03pm
Updated: March 31, 2022 9:20am
A man who has been in prison for four decades after hijacking a school bus of children and burying them alive in 1976 was approved for parole, NBC News reported.
Frederick Woods, 70, was approved for parole during a hearing on Friday at California Men's Colony, thanks to the support of two survivors. Previously, he had been denied parole 17 times.
"I think he served enough time for the crime he committed," indicated survivor Larry Park, who supported Woods' release along with Rebecca Reynolds Dailey. However, "I'm concerned about the addiction he may have to money," he added and urged Woods to get treatment.
Woods was sentenced for kidnapping 26 children and the bus driver on July 15, 1976, near Chowchilla, a town 125 miles southeast of San Francisco. Woods and his accomplices, brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, buried them alive in a ventilated bunker.
The kidnappers, who planned the crime for more than a year, demanded a $5 million ransom from the state Board of Education. All three were from wealthy San Francisco Bay Area families, according to CNN.
The children, aged between 5 and 14, and the bus driver were able to leave after being confined for 16 hours. It was considered the largest mass kidnapping in U.S. history, the media reported.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom's late father, State Appeals Court Judge William Newsom, reduced the life sentences of the three men in 1980 and made them eligible for parole.
Richard Schoenfeld was released in 2012 after an appeals court order, and his brother James was paroled by then-Governor Jerry Brown in 2015.
During the hearing, Woods apologized for his actions, claiming that he now "had an empathy for the victims that I didn't have then."
"I've had a change of character since then," he added. "I was 24 years old. I now fully understand the terror and trauma I caused. I take full responsibility for this heinous act."
Because Woods committed the crime when he was young, a California law may apply that requires parole commissioners to give more consideration to the release of inmates who were convicted in their youth, but who are now elderly and have served long prison sentences.
