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California man, 70, imprisoned for kidnapping a bus full of children in 1976 then burying them alive in ventilated bunker and demanding $5 million ransom before they escaped has been approved for parole
Daily Mail UK ^ | March 29, 2022 | Natasha Anderson

Posted on 03/29/2022 7:11:53 PM PDT by Morgana

A 70-year-old man convicted of hijacking a school bus full of children and holding them and their driver for $5 million ransom in 1976 has been approved for parole.

Frederick Newhall Woods was found suitable for parole at a hearing Friday, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Joe Orlando confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.

Parole commissioners reportedly decided Woods no longer is a danger to the public.

Woods masterminded the kidnapping plot after being inspired by the 1971 Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry. His accomplices, brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, were freed years ago. An appeals court ordered Richard Schoenfeld released in 2012, and former Gov. Jerry Brown paroled James Schoenfeld in 2015.

All three were from wealthy San Francisco Bay Area families when they kidnapped 26 children and their bus driver near Chowchilla.

They buried the children, who were between the ages of 5 to 14, along with their bus driver in a ventilated underground bunker east of San Francisco. After 16 hours, the victims were able to dig their way out and escape as the kidnappers were asleep.

Woods became eligible for parole in 1982 but was previously denied release 17 times.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: california; chowchilla; crime; doyouremember
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To: Morgana

but by golly let’s keep jan 6 peaceful protestors in prison in solitary confinement without the possibility of bail because ‘they are too dangerous to let go’ according ot prosecutors and judges that have denied them bail


21 posted on 03/29/2022 10:06:19 PM PDT by Bob434
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To: Morgana

WOW

GTFOOH


22 posted on 03/29/2022 11:51:32 PM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: Morgana

This world is so crazy... would you even be SURPRISED for a moment if this man is released and then hired as a school bus driver?!


23 posted on 03/30/2022 4:14:16 AM PDT by momtothree
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To: Morgana
I was a teen when this happened. It was big news, and scared the crap out of every kid I knew and their parents.

Chowchilla bus kidnapping: Rare photos from one of the largest abductions in U.S. history

24 posted on 03/30/2022 4:27:20 AM PDT by mewzilla (We need to repeal RCV wherever it's in use and go back to dumb voting machines.)
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To: Morgana

Those kids are aging adults now. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if one of them returned the favor.


25 posted on 03/30/2022 4:33:47 AM PDT by CodeToad (Arm up! They Have!)
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To: BobL

The death penalty especially since the victims dug themselves out. What would have happened to them otherwise? It’s not like the kidnappers made a deal to release them or the police found the victims.


26 posted on 03/30/2022 5:19:10 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: T.B. Yoits

Tell me about it. Almost a Jonestown-level mass killing of children with this stunt. I too wouldn’t mind expanding the death penalty at least somewhat to cover life-changing crimes like this.


27 posted on 03/30/2022 5:37:30 AM PDT by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart, I just don't tell anyone.)
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To: Morgana

Frederick Newhall Woods, upon release from prison, says...

“Ahhh, another chance. This time, I’m gonna get it right!”


28 posted on 03/30/2022 8:06:40 AM PDT by moovova
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