Frederick Woods who was accused of the Chowchilla School Bus hijack in 1976 has been granted parole confirmed by Terry Thorton from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Frederick Woods who is now 70 was approved of getting parole in the month of March after being denied for the same around 17 times.
Two of the survivors of the Chowchilla School Bus hijack came in support of Frederick.
Larry Park, one of the survivors of the hijack said, “I believe you have served enough time for the crime you committed.” Another survivor, Rebecca Reynold Dailey also agreed to the same.
The only concern that both of them have was about the addiction of money Wood may have got and suggested him to get treated for the same.
Other students who survived the spine-chilling incident in 1976 were not at all happy with this decision.
Jennifer Brown Hyde who was just 9 years old when this incident happened said, "His mind is still evil and he is out to get what he wants."
Frederick Woods was 24 years old when along with 2 other men hijacked a school bus full of children and buried them alive. They buried the innocent children in an old moving van with little ventilation, light and food. The became the largest mass kidnapping in the history of the US.
After the kidnapping, Wood and the brothers demanded $ 5 million from the State Board of Education. The children who were buried along with the bus driver got rescued after 16 hours.
Richard Schoenfeld and his brother James, both of them got paroled in the year 2012 and 2015 respectively.
Frederick Woods and his other two accomplices belonged to a wealthy family when they kidnapped these children.
He is being provided with parole as he has changed himself and has become a good man and poses no danger or threat to society, said his attorney, Dominique Banos.