He kidnapped 26 children and buried them alive.. Now he is back for freedom
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In 1976, Frederick Newhall Woods hijacked a school bus, held the children on board in a dug underground vault, and demanded $5 million in ransom.
In an incident that sparked controversy in the United States, authorities in California have agreed to the conditional release of a 70-year-old man who has spent the past four decades in prison for hijacking a school bus full of children and “burying” them and their driver alive, NBC reported. C American.
Frederick Newhall Woods was released on parole at a hearing Friday at the St. Louis County Jail in California.
The man had previously been denied release 17 times.
Woods was convicted for his role in the 1976 kidnapping of 26 children aged 5 to 14 and their bus driver near Chuchilla, southeast of San Francisco.
Woods and his co-criminals, Richard and James Schoenefeld, then trapped the children and the bus driver in a container dug underground, with a window too small for ventilation.
The three kidnappers, who planned the crime more than a year ago, demanded a ransom of $5 million from the state board of education in exchange for the children's release, even though the three criminals are from wealthy families in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The children and the driver managed to get themselves out and escape after spending several days in the underground container.
Woods apologized for his actions during Friday's hearing, telling the parole committee that he "sympathized with the victims," adding: "My personality has changed since then. I was 24 at the time. Now I fully understand the horror and trauma I caused. I take full responsibility for this act." gruesome."
His accomplices in crime had previously been released, after the Court of Appeals ordered the release of Richard Schoenefeld in 2012 and then James Schoenefeld in 2015.
Two of the victims supported Woods' release.
"I think you've spent enough time in prison for the crime you committed," one of the victims said on Friday.
On the other hand, a number of survivors did not support Woods' release, including Jennifer Brown Hyde, who said she did not believe "Woods made up for what he did... and he is still a millionaire."
"Even the settlement paid to some of us wasn't enough. It was enough to pay for part of our psychiatric treatment, but it wasn't enough to buy a house," she added.
In turn, Madeira County Prosecutor Sally Moreno said that many survivors are still affected by what happened.
She added that Woods "revealed how dangerous he was. He destroyed the lives of dozens of these children... and they are still suffering from the effects of it. He is not someone who should be released... He has shown the ability to commit this kind of crime."
The release committee's decision will become final within 120 days before it is reviewed by the California governor.
If the governor allows a parole order, Woods will be set free.
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