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After spending decades behind bars, Frederick Newhall Woods, a 70-year-old man who was convicted of hijacking a school bus filled with children and their driver in 1976, has been granted parole, Your Content has learned.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson confirmed the approval on Friday.
Woods, along with two accomplices, orchestrated the kidnapping of 26 children and their driver, demanding a ransom of $5 million. Inspired by the film “Dirty Harry,” they held the victims captive in an underground bunker.
However, after careful consideration, the parole commissioners determined that Woods no longer poses a threat to society.
The final decision regarding his parole will be made within 120 days, following the hearing panel’s proposal.
Despite becoming eligible for parole in 1982, Woods had been denied release on 17 previous occasions. In contrast, his partners in crime, Richard and James Schoenfeld, were released from prison years ago, according to MIRROR.
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