A man sentenced to life in California for hijacking a school bus with 26 children to bury them alive and demanding a $5 million ransom in 1976 will be paroled after spending more than four decades in prison.
The parole board this week approved the application of Frederick Woods, 70, who had a letter in favor of two of his victims.
"I think he has served enough time in jail for the crime that he committed," said Larry Park, who supported Woods' release along with Rebecca Reynolds Dailey.
Park also said he is still concerned about Woods' "addiction to money," urging him to seek therapy.
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Woods, in October 2021. AP
Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed Woods being released from jail and on Tuesday asked the state board to reconsider its decision.
But he couldn't exercise his veto power over the board because it wasn't a murder case.
Woods and his two accomplices, brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld, belonged to wealthy families from the San Francisco Bay Area.
The 26 children and the driver were abducted near Chowchilla, a small Central Valley town 160 miles from San Francisco.
They buried the boys, ages 5 to 14, along with the bus driver, inside an old moving van in that rural area east of San Francisco and demanded a $5 million reward from the local school board for his release.
The victims remained trapped for hours with little ventilation, without food or water.
After digging with their hands for a day, the 27 managed to get out of the death trap alive.
Newsom said Woods "continued to engage in financial misconduct in prison," using a contraband cell phone to offer advice on running a Christmas tree farm, a gold mining business and a car dealership.
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Woods' behavior "continues to show that he only cares about the money," said Madera County Prosecutor Sally Moreno, opposing his release on parole.
Newsom's late father, Judge William Newsom, reduced the sentences of the three hijackers sentenced to life in prison so that they would be eligible for parole.
Richard left in 2012 following an appeals court ruling;
and then-Governor Jerry Brown paroled James in 2015.
The van where 26 children and one adult were buried in California in 1976.AP
Woods apologized for his crime
during his hearing on Friday last week: "I've had empathy for the victims, something I didn't have before. I've changed since then," he said.
"I was 24 years old. Now I understand the magnitude of the trauma and terror I caused. I accept full responsibility for this deplorable act," he added.
Woods explained that he felt pressured by his parents when he was young to have money, because without it he believed they would not accept him.
"I didn't need the money. I wanted it," said the convict, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Four of his victims opposed his release because they believe that the crimes Woods committed in prison show that
he has not reformed.
Lynda Carrejo Labendeira, then 10, recalled how they struggled to escape as children: The candles and lanterns they carried were going out and "the dungeon coffin was collapsing," The Washington Post reported.
“I can't help but remember when I see a similar truck,” she told the parole board, “insomnia keeps me up every night.
I don't sleep so I don't have nightmares."