The last of three men convicted of hijacking a school bus full of California children for an attempted $5 million ransom in 1976 in what a prosecutor called 'the largest mass kidnapping in U.S. history' is being released by the state's parole board.
. But the board affirmed that decision. The governor couldn't block Woods' release because he's not convicted of murder, and could only urge the parole board to take a closer look.
Woods, who was 24 at the time, became a person of interest in the case after police connected him to the quarry where the van had been buried — his father owned the place. In 1980, state Judge William Newsom, who was the current governor's father, was on an appellate panel that reduced the men's life sentences to give them a chance at parole. He pushed for their release in 2011, after he retired, noting that no one was seriously physically injured during the kidnapping.
Three former inmates who served time with Woods urged parole officials to free him, while four victims or their relatives said Woods' misbehavior in prison shows he still views himself as privileged. Several of Woods' victims have previously supported his release.Lynda Carrejo Labendeira, who was 10 at the time, recalled how the children struggled to escape as a flashlight and candles flickered out while"the makeshift, dungeonous coffin was caving in.
Jennifer Brown Hyde, who was 9 at the time, recalled"the lifetime effects of being buried alive and being driven around in a van for 11 hours with no food, water or a bathroom in over 100-degree weather."
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