SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Fred Woods, convicted of kidnapping a bus full of kids back in 1976 has been denied parole and will stay in prison in San Luis Obispo at the California Men's Colony.
The California Department of Corrections issued the follow statement:
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied parole today for convicted kidnapper Fred Woods, 61, during his 13th subsequent parole consideration hearing at the California Men's Colony (CMC). Woods was one of three crime partners involved in the Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping case in July 1976.
Woods appeared and spoke before the panel today.
Woods was sent to state prison on February 17, 1978, with a 7-years-to-life sentence from Alameda County with 27 concurrent convictions for kidnapping. The minimum parole date set by the court for Woods was August 21, 1980. Accordingly, his initial parole hearing was in 1982.
The youngest of the kidnapping crime partners, Richard Schoenfeld, was released to parole June 20, 2012 after an appeals court ordered his release.
His brother, James Schoenfeld, who is also serving time for this crime at CMC, is due for his next parole consideration hearing in March 2013.
The BPH hearing transcript will serve as the official record and is expected to be transcribed in approximately 30 days.
