He did his time it's been 36 years.

He did his time, now let him do baby sitting for the ones responsible for his early release and let them see if he was rehabilitated.

The over and under is 11 1/2 days. I am sure a younger brother of one of the victums has actually hope he would get out. CA is one F'ed up state to even think about letting someone like this out.

Place your wagers, he will be playing running man but is really Dead Man Walking out the gate.......

The story is written to generate fear. I'm sure the locals will keep an eye on him, wherever he lands. He'll still have to report to his parole officer. (Of course, I could just have a false sense of safety. Since the GOP has pretty much put me off rich white guys, I'm not worrying on my own account. You won't find me around guys like him...)

I live in this wimpy-ass state, unfortunately. No one is ever executed, many get early releases, and the dumbasses that run this place can't understand the crime rate. Go figure...

They told us that to ease overcrowding they would start emptying prison and here we go !

any bets before he is arrested again? and the finger pointing begins !!!!!

so let me get this right. you kidnap a bus full of kids and the driver and along with your brother you bury them alive and deamand ransom and you only have to serve 36 yrs. in prison? what has happened to this country?

WTF? How did he magicly become eligible for parole? This POS kidnapped 26 children and buried them alive. Would they have survived if the ransom had been paid? Hell no. Kidnapping used to carry a death sentence. Guess our kids used to be more precious. Sick Sad WRONG

so doug logan you think after kidnapping and killing 37 people 36 yrs. ago is called serving his time? what planet are you from? murder is murder and 36 yrs. is not long enough. please get real.

DougLogan-stuntman, P.I.

He did his time it's been 36 years.

Dying in a prison cell would've been doing his time.

omg CALIFORNIA SUCKS!

murder is murder and 36 yrs. is not long enough\

Thankfully, they didn't die. The article says the bus driver lead them to safety. But I agree, 36 years is not long enough. Prison is where he should die. Maybe someone will bury him under a pile of rocks.

do any of you actually read? they all escaped it said in the article, and yes he served his time and may be rehabilitated. before any of you make judgement or fly off handle......please READ what you commenting on.........yes you BILLIE Mazza!

The ones that say its ok to release him should be the ones held accountable for the crime this piece of trash will do again. Also look the family's of the lives he risked and tell them it is ok that he be released.

I agree. My state is messed up.

Charles "Tex" Watson, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkle will never, however, be granted parole. Their crimes, heinous as they were, were committed when they were very young and under the drug induced influence and mind control of a sociopath. They have admitted their guilt, expressed remorse and gone through every program they were told they must go thru to be considered acceptable for parole. All, absolutely every one, of their psych evals have said they are suitable for parole and will never harm anyone again. Even Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was paroled, and she attempted to kill a President!

This guy tried to kill over 20 children.....and he gets paroled. This is just wrong.

@Billie- Not that I agree with the idea of this man being freed, but no one was murdered. The kids and the driver escaped.

djb - I hope they release him on my property. I'd be glad to give him some rehabilitation.

only because they escaped...he is a sick person that had no plans to release the children. if it were your child or you, you would think reasonably ..that he should not be released...imagine being buried alive! stupid!!!!!!

keeping People like this in prison is a waste of TAX DOLLARS and a waste of oxygen....sent this SOB to Texas...They Will know what to do with him

We'll see how long he lasts. One way or the other.

II wonder how many of those victims who were buried alive still suffer psychological problems requiring treatment (if they can afford it)?

I don't think it justifiable -- from a purely humanitarian and sociological perspective -- that this convict walks free as long as even one of his victims still suffers as a result of his crime.

@djb--there is no such thing as rehabilitation.

Billie: No one died. They all escaped.

He doesn't deserve the leave prison or a state hospital for the rest of his life. He gave up his rights and he put citizens in a position where theirs were denied.

We've been waiting 36 years for his release. He has had a nice life safely tucked away behind bars.....let him out to get his just reward.

No one died, even if it was his intent to kill them, you cant persecute or make him serve time for something you cant prove he intended to do. I think 36 years is time served for kidnapping.

I hate to say it, but there is no evidence that he intended to kill anyone and no one died. It seems like 36 years for kidnapping is not that unreasonable of a sentence when we have murderers being paroled in the 18-25 year range. I personally do not think that anyone convicted of intentionally murdering someone should ever be released, but that is the way our legal system is set up. A determination has been made that he has been rehabilitated and is no longer a threat. Under our legal system that makes him eligible for parole. Not every crime warrants a life sentence, and certainly not crimes in which no one died or was even physically injured.

Look up the story under "the chowchilla kidnapping" and you will see that these people were not going to kill the children but collect a ransom and then release them. Damn 36 years for kidnapping seem to be a long time. They had lights, food, water, and air vents in the trailer so it just does'nt seem like they were going to kill them. Release them now.

I guess CA is paroling him because they NEED the prison space for all the pot smokers!

The world is ran by clueless fools

Dougstuntman , would it have been ok after 36 years if YOUR kids (if you have any ) were included in that number ? You must have taken one too many blows to the cranium in your stunt career .

You can either have the guys that kidnap and are violent in prison, or you can have the perverts and thieves in prison. As it stands, pretty much anything and everything in our country is illegal, and thus, the ones that do truly serious crimes slip into the system and are either let off light, or come out much earlier to make room for the new ones. So we either build more prisons until everyone's locked up, or we lax the laws and make it so the truly evil people are forever locked away safely.

Honestly, I think this is deserved, and we'll be seeing more and more of this. Peeping toms, pot smokers, and people with light, white collar crimes (missing payments, etc) are now being thrown in with the monsters, sometimes even in place of the truly vicious ones. Honestly, I look forward to more and more of this happening. We'll either all be living under lock and key eventually, or it'll force the law to begin handing out sentences that make sense, rather than dropping the hammer on everyone, which seems to send the public into gigglefits of glee... that is until it's their time before the judge.

Come on....These guys were after a quick buck and I remember the story. They buried the bus but made sure the kids and the driver were safe in it. Trying o make sure they were safe and being pseudo criminals the botched the job and the driver and the kids escaped and they went to jail. They spent 36 years in jail for their crime and responsible people who know what they are doing said they are not a threat to society. They are now in their 50's. They were given parole by a court because the prison board screwd up. The Supreme court of calif refused to overturn it. Like it or not more threatening people are released on parole in the US everyday. We are a country unlike others who send you to jail and forget about you. Some people may actually be rehabilitated which is the way prison should be in the first place. Some would stay but others if schooled correctly could return to society asnd be upstanding citizens. Now all you macho go ahead and do your daily routine trying to prove how tough you are with your keyboard machoism.

It is unfortunate that this criminal did not die in prison, of natural causes, of course. Upon his release, I think there will be more than a few people looking for him, to seek revenge. He will have to put a chiropractor on retainer, to take care of the crick in his neck from looking over his shoulder all the time.

The best thing he could do would be to join a monastic religious society and hide. If he shows up at a WalMart or Target, or the local grocery store, he will have to wear a disguise, because his life will not be worth much.

LMAO Stupid Americans!

This clown should NEVER be released. It was only by a miracle that the children survived. I know if I had been on that bus, this fool would NEVER want to walk free again, because that's the type of deal I'd NEVER FORGIVE and I'd likely have some "PTSD" or "temporary insanity" over !!

This is an outrage!

This guy kidnaps 26 kids and the driver of that bus and he's getting out early?

The man should have received a life sentence for every count of kidnapping!

Sady contrary to myth kidnapping has never carried a death penalty unless the victim died!

IMPEACH GOVERNOR MOONBEAM NOW!

The bus driver from that bus just died very recently. I am sorry I do not remember his name but, I have to say that at least he is not here to know that this idiot is being released early. He was the hero of this story and that comes from the now grown adults who were the children on that bus. They were terrified, threatened, thought they were going to be buried alive and did not know if they would ever see their parents and other loved ones again. The bus driver held them together and kept his cool under the circumstances. Some say that he served his time and so that is that. You should ask the people involved if they feel that way. I can guess what their answer would be. Forgiveness is a good thing, however, if someone chooses to commit a crime, that person must also accept the FULL WEIGHT of the consequences. He's got enough cojones to kidnap a school bus full of kids, let's see if he is man enough to face the streets knowing people are out there who remember his actions.

Shandril

LMAO Stupid Americans!

I'm not sure where that is coming from. In most European countries, particularly northern Europe, he would have been released long ago.

While I understand the sentiments most have made, if you dislike that the guy is being released, work in our judicial/prison system to correct it.

If you refuse to do that, then you cannot complain and call everyone else stupid or say anything about the man. You have no idea why the parole board has decided to release him. Do you know every fact about the case? Seeing that his partners in crime are not getting out, is it possible that this was a young man on a bad path---who could have went along with a plan for the sake of doing so---and after 30 plus years, he has shown that he can be a productive member of society? No, you are all too close-minded to think of such a thing. I don't know the case and I have no desire to fix our prison system that morons have overcrowded for far lesser offenses...when violent criminals get off for actually killing someone.

What about Sandusky here Pennsylvania for example? You are telling me that his victims suffered less than the kids on this bus? They suffered far more but people who hurt kids like he does rarely spend 30 plus years in prison and they get out and do it again. I realize the intent of burying people alive is murder...but unless you want to suggest we hold everyone for 3 decades because their intent shows harm, then this guy served his time. By that logic, a lot of people would be behind bars that you and I both know do not deserve to be there---what about when a married couple has a disagreement and their kids happen to hear them? Yes, I know it doesn't compare to the fear of being buried alive...but I am showing you how silly what you are saying is. He intended harm so we should lock him up forever. regardless of how he have have changed? It would be entirely different if even just one of those kids ended up not being able to see their parents again...but that is not the case and as far as the story says, he didn't have a criminal record other than this one incident. Again, take the recent story of the doctor who likely had mental issues. He had a history. He should have been stopped but he was not. Sadly, the system failed and an innocent woman died. This man has no history...

I am not saying the man is an angel or anything. I just have to question most of the responses here. If this is such an outrage, why are you people not the ones on the the parole board? Why are you not helping clean up this country? To complain and complain and complain, while you do absolutely nothing? That is why this country blows chunks right now.

This A-hole is only 57, I looked it up at the California Inmate Locator. He and his brother are housed TOGETHER at the Men's Colony. He's not suffered nearly enough if he's been housed with his brother. 36 years is not long enough to serve under those conditions and especially not for that crime, whether he meant to kill those kids or not.

Bud Jones, Democrats run this state (California) and have for the better part of the past 40 years....right into the ground....

Here's a few thought provoking questions for you ApacheRosePea00, think if no one paid him, that he'd have just let those people go? How about, had he not been caught, think he and his cohort would have gone on to commit more crimes?... As for the rest of your post, get over yourself.

Angela, Your quite correct . In our country many years ago , the penalty for kidnapping was execution. Personally, I think this type of penalty should still be enforced through the courts.

Angela LD...so we punish intent in America now? We punish based on what other crimes, if not caught, someone could have committed? Last I checked, that has not been how our legal system remotely works. By your logic, anyone who gets a traffic ticket should, in theory, pay for that ticket and any future tickets they might receive...before they even drive a car again. Even in countries far worse than here, a person is never held based on things they might do. If you want to, then you do it. I'll stand by laughing.

And thanks but I have nothing on myself. I just happen to see this story for what it is. A person did a bad thing. They paid their debt as required by the law and they are being let go...if you people dislike it so much, why are you not on the parole board? Why are you not running for office? You complain like you know better so go do the job or sit by idly while this country is trashed and do nothing. Your choice. But to complain and never do anything? The irony in that says it all. I'd say get over yourself but it doesn't matter, does it? You'll still judge someone you have never met, based on what you think you know and how you think a "normal" person should react. Good for you. You keep doing that. I'll stick to having an open mind and realizing that sometimes, people can make mistakes and change. I'll pass judgement when I know the person instead of blindly reading a story that says. "they were buried alive" and judging him...when they were hidden in cave. Yes, worse could have happened but it didn't. Let it go.

So many people have been buried in real estate deals in California that the crime has been relegated to a misdemeanor.

Idiotic decisions like this are why so many people are still for the death penalty. The time he has served so far might be deemed adequate had he kidnapped only one or two people, and not in such a horrible manner as burying them alive; as it it he should have served, consecutively, eight or ten years per victim and that would have made release only a theoretical possibility. The whole ideal of "concurrent sentences" is in my estimation ludicrous. It sends a message to criminals that if you are going to commit crimes, commit many of them, and to victims that if you are considered to be the tenth, twentieth, or whatever victim rather than the first or second then tough, you really don't count.

Lynn abd DJB...I read the entire article. The fact is that if you bury someone for ransom, it is implied that you have every intention to kill them if you do not get that ransom and possibly will anyway even if you do. Had they not escaped, there is a real possibility they would have died...ie murder. This man should not be free! Although I must say, since it is Cali, I am not surprised...

Apacherose and marmaduke and others that think this guy should be free:
You.Have.No.Clue.Do.You?

Apache said "You punish for intent?" HELL YES YOU DO. Just because they FAILED doesn't give them a second chance to DO IT AGAIN. Get real people!! He MEANT to kill them. Another factor came into play that allowed them to escape with their lives. YES you punish for intent when you TRIED BUT FAILED to kill 26 kids and their driver.

How about someone beating you HALF to death but they intended to kill you...do you let them off because they intended to kill you but didn't get the job done?

The problem is in Sacramento, where a permanently confused legislature writes laws that confuse and confound the citizens and the enforcers.

I dont care what role this loser had in this kidnapping. These people who do things like this( to kids) should be euthanized!! He did it once dont give him another chance to do it again!!

Forget it Apache, these people have bloodlust, reason won't have any sway. Presumably some of them will be karmically hoisted on their own batards at some point and then they might get it. Meanwhile haters gotta hate.

The only thing I can say is that I hope he has learned his lesson. I pray he will get out and lead a clean, help others kind of life. Never again seeing any reason to harm another living soul.

so doug logan you think after kidnapping and killing 37 people 36 yrs. ago is called serving his time? what planet are you from? murder is murder and 36 yrs. is not long enough. please get real.

Billie Mazza - you need to reread the article. Nobody died in this incident. All 37 people survived. While I would prefer to keep him in prison for life, the law, as written says he is eligible for parole.

We live in a society of laws, not one of emotional reactions, wherein we tailor punishment to the mood of the public.

He did 36 years; the law says he should be paroled. That is it.

It happens in other states too.

This is from the same state that is/has passed a law saying that employers cannot run background checks on potential employees nor deny them employment based on their criminal records.

It's amazing...There was nothing in the news about the recent passing of Frank Edward Ray, the hero who saved those 26 kids, but a lot in the news about the monster who buried them alive.

Frank, you drove a bus quietly and professionally for decades. You were then called upon to do something most of us could not imagine. You rescued 26 kids, showed incredible modesty, and wanted nothing for your actions.

Thank You Frank...

California isn't the only state that says that - actually many states have similar laws. The reasoning is that it is the State's job to punish you for your crimes, not a private employers.

So we're "haters' for thinking the ATTEMPTED MASS MURDER of 27 people is deserving of a life sentence?? Like I said, if this fool had buried me, he'd NEVER want to be back on the street.

Dual Service (U.S. Navy, U.S. Army), Combat (full pull, OIF 08-09) Veteran.

Breadex, thanks for that information. I was unfamiliar with this case and now it is clearer.

I agree with all you have said btw.

One year per each count of attempted murder is very lenient. TOO lenient.

I get three things from the article:

1) Someone thought that this guy should be paroled in, like, 2021

2) This was proven to be a miscalculation and he is supposed to be released now

3) Since this happened in the mid-1970s it has to be decided under whatever the law was then, not now.

The last point is really important. If Charles Manson had been sentenced under current law, he would not keep coming back up for parole, but that doesn't matter since he wasn't, but rather he was sentenced under the laws as they stood in 1970. Somehow I imagine if a similar crime of similar magnitude were to be committed today, the perpetrators would NOT come up for parole.

Mr. Manson declind to show for his parole hearing two months ago. He probably thought it was a waste of time.

I am old enough to remember and I lived in Orange county. I still remember how the victims suffered. The aftermath was terrible. I think the hero driver and those brave kids should not be forgotten. A statue or studies in schools to keep the memories of survival of all who survived a really "Bad Trip".

Frank Edward Ray, the school bus driver hailed as a hero for helping lead the children to safety after 16 hours underground, died May 17 at the age of 91 in Chowchilla.

Very sad that Mr. Ray is gone and it's a credit to him that he made it to age 91 but...I'm glad that he did not live to see this day.

Schoenfeld is sick to have committed this crime. Does someone this diabolical EVER really get rehabbed???

I am unaware of what his actual charges and convictions were, though my thinking would have been 27 counts of kidnapping, 27 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, a questionable number of extortion charges, and conspiracy as well. Additionally, the majority of those against children, which should have brought a whole other realm of charges.

Averaging out the time served at 36 years, this guy is actually doing less than 6 months on each. I will have to keep that in mind the next time the courts try an alleged kidnapper and violent offender.

Now to something more constructive. Isn't it about time that the Federal government begins to mandate cooperative interstate registries on convicts that have perpetrated crimes against children?

The sad fact the we have a failing sex offender registry as it is offers little hope.

It is time to mandate that these offenders report themselves till they drop dead, and that such information is made publicly available at any given moment.

Federally mandated notices to the general public when a violent offender moves into your area should be a GIVEN.

That sex offender registries exist, where registers for people who physically harm and kill children do not , leaves me wondering where the legislative communities heads may lay.

The thought that a guy who sexually abused someone may live around the corner is scary enough without considering that a child murderer could live next door and it would never be known.

Very twisted sense of priority IMHO.

Only 3 times in my entire life was I notified that an offender moved into my general locale. I have no doubt that falls far short of the truth of the matter.

A comprehensive and effective system should be DEMANDED of our legislators!

DougLogan-stuntman, P.I. No way this creature should be released from prison. What he did was horrific and all those children suffer to this day of being buried alive. Think about it, if it were you and fearing of dying in the worse possible way, would you not be stressed knowing this thing that did it to you is going to be free. M bets are he doesn't make it to his next birthday! He sould have sat in prison for life!

One of my biggest complaints is watching political hopefuls address all sorts of issues except for issues that concern the safety and protection of our children. They seem to concern themselves about any and everything else. Doesn't matter if the race is large or small; local, statewide or national. It would seem that lawmakers are blind to all of the crime against kids that occurs. I'm not talking about a spanking, either. I'm talking about monsters like this Schoenfeld or that perv sewer scum Powell on another article this weekend who received a paltry 30 months for secretly taping children. We need tough laws that keep creepy monsters in jail so that there is no worry that they will repeat and make any would be wannabes think and think hard before inflicting their sick punishment on defenseless, innocent children.

Great post Hatchet.

Or maybe 24 hours in General Population might do it.....

Amen Tammie!!!

He should be led to a nearby man-made landslide.

God you people are sick! I f'n hate that I share a country with you!! He served 36, does anyone get that, THIRTY SIX year!!! For a crime that at the time given the law at the time, other people convicted of the same thing (multiple counts of kidnapping) got paroled in as little as 6 months. He and they served 72 times that amount! Would it matter to you people calling for his death, if he actually didn't have anything at all to do with the actual kiddnapping itself? That he was just involved with the ransom demand? That there never was anyplan at all to kill or HURT any of them? That they were all left with food and water to last them several days? Would it make any difference then? God Damn, I guess people in this country can't ever make mistakes, albiet some mistakes are bigger than others, mistakes are still made. These aren't child molesters, who by the way if they were JUST child molesters they would have been out of prison a quater century earlier. They made a really, really DUMB mistake trying to make extra money and have now served their time, let him be!

Maybe the "Big Yellow Bus" will run over him?!

@WOW

You write " I f'n hate that I share a country with you!!"

Then, by all means, PLEASE LEAVE. You and your kind is exactly why this type of crap happens. Treat yourself to an Obama rally, you'll fit right in.

Others would say that your kind is why Bush happened. Some people are so dripping with Obama hate that they just can't keep it from continually surfacing even when the situation is completely unrelated to anything Obama had anything to do with. Perhaps you can go attend an NRA rally, you would fit right in and as far as I know NRA stands for Nosepickers Rednecks and Ass_oles.

Perhaps I will and I did vote for Bush. Thanks for your concern!

WOW-1219889

Burying a busload of kids is not a mistake. Wake the hell up.

Under Employed Teacher:

Please stay that way and don't infect our kids with more left-wing ideas; they get enough of them from television already.

If my math is correct he only served 16 months for each person kidnapped. Not enough in my opinion, he spent 36 years and I wouldn't care if he did another 36 years.

You have my vote on that Tammie

Why do politics, Obama, Rebublicans, Bush get trolled into every article on MSNBC. You people are trolls, plain and simple!

He buried 26 school children alive in their school bus. I dont care how much time has passed. Someone forgot to THROW AWAY THE KEY!!!

No need for guns .. I am sure one of us has a nice hole in our back yard :c)

just thought the same thing myself nmsunt

Mr. WOW, is this guy your boyfriend, or somethin'?

The comparison to Charles Manson is ludicrous. Manson was a mass murderer. These idiots never intended to do physical harm to their victims and were too stupid to understand the psychic trauma. Bad move, but 36 years is enough. Inmates who have killed have done less time. In this case, care was taken to do no physical harm. Emotional harm was bad, hence decades of incarceration, but saying it should be life only encourages future perpetrators to kill the witnesses against them.

Manson isn't a mass murderer. His followers did the killing. He is just barking crazy.
I think this guy has done his time and will be monitored closely. Three strikes law will take care of him if he doesn't act nice and keep a low profile.

Wants to know...how exactly do you KNOW they didn't intend to harm anyone? They buried them! You think they were going to just let them go if no ransom was found? They INTENDED to kill all along. They could have locked them up in a building but no...,they buried them. Had these kids not gotten out...it would have been mass murder. The kidnappers FAILED to become mass murderers via the heroics of the bus driver. Get real. He deserves to rot in prison.

Stephaniecali, Manson was convicted of multiple murders because he ordered his followers to do it. Legally (and factually), that makes him a mass murderer, even setting aside the murders for which no one was tried (i.e. Shorty Shea.) SHEESH!

How can you predict something like that...you cannot! Think back to when u were in your twenties...did you do anything you wish you hadn't?

Wonder how his finances are?

Pamela Watson, no relation to Tex Watson right? Guy needs money so he buries 26 kids alive. Think he's been saving his prison pay? Are you kidding? To answer your question, when I was 20 and had 2 kids to support I got a JOB. I did not kidnap children bury them alive or demand ransom. Who Knew?

really pamela

Keep kidnapping kids for ransom??? Why because the 1st time worked so well?? You are an idiot!! You watch, you'll never hear from this guy again....

I am reasonably confident he will do no such thing for the reason WOW articulates!

Pamela - asking Stephen to "think" - let's not be unreasonable.

Think back to when u were in your twenties...did you do anything you wish you hadn't?

It's amazing that someone can just write off an act like burying kids alive as 'something you do in your 20's'. I'm thinking you must not be playing with a full deck.

This is something that takes a sick mental state to commit, it's not a simple act of bad judgement.

You cannot rehabilitate a mental illness.

Untrue, there are many mental conditions that one can be rehabilitated from. Those generally do not involve kidnapping 26 children and burying them alive, however.

:-)

Must have kept him out of the general population. Learned a long time ago when i worked at a prison, you kill someone, you rape someone, you rob someone, you fit right in. take the seat on the right.

However, you do anything to a child, and you dont live long. Must have something to do with 90% of prisoners were molested.

Too bad jeffery dahmer crokused. I'd bunk him with jeff.

He's no danger since Californian politicians have cut school funding so much that there's no money to pay for school buses anyways, so he won't be tempted to reoffend.

TR I guess good old governor moonbeam and good ole boy governor Haley Barbour need to get together and have a talk about who is being released from prison.

Funny one was the parole boards doing and the other was the Governors doing. Try to keep up and stop hating, it's really not good for you.

Do you understand the difference between kidnapping and child molesting?? Do I really need to explain it to you? Just so you know, in prison there is a HUGE difference, one they become a target and the other the become almost a celebrity. No different than a bank robber walking into a bank and taking hostages, even if they are all kids. They aren't planning on f@# en them. So get over yourself, telling everyone what GP would do to them from some idiot who has never even gotten a speeding ticket before... Go back to watching your prison TV shows and pretending you have some connection to them before turning to go to bed in your jammies dreaming about how cool you would be if you had the guts to commit a crime and go to jail... Loser...

"....guts to commit a crime..."////surely, that is a mistaken impression I'm taking that you think it takes "guts" to commit a crime vs. laziness and stupidity...guts????....that's a funny notion homie!!

Somehow I doubt that Gov. Brown is happy that this crime, which occurred back when he was governor the first time, is news again. I recall him saying things to the effect that while he was opposed to the death penaly he didn't accept that you became a criminal just because you had a bad childhood. If he has any involvement in this, it is only to the extent that some people on the Parole Board might well have been his appointees.

Pamela Watson must have been nice living in your safe white bread world where Mommy was always there to kiss your boo boos. You have obviously always felt protected and safe. This POS took that away from these children for LIFE. It should serve the same sentence.

Hahaha...nope..no boo-boo's kissed here...hahaha..You truely believe he should spend the rest of his life, behind bars for this ? Yes, it was horrible what he did...but have you kept up with the news...rapists and killers being released, back into society because of OVERCROWING!!! As crazy as that is, its the truth...and I would rather have this guy as my next door neighbor than one of those other psychos! He has served almost 40 years...he should never see the light of day again? I still think he did his time, should be released and monitored.

maybe you can tell us what would have happened if the bus driver and children hadn't escaped. Do you really believe they were going to let these witnesses live? Yeah. Look there goes the Easter Bunny.

Obviously you think what he did wasn't so bad. After all no one died. Rape. What is rape? Rape is a show of power and control. Experts say it rarely has anything to do with sex. He certainly liked the power and control. He buried these people alive, but he is not a killer because they escaped. THEY ESCAPED. They weren't released. I hope this POS moves in next to you. Maybe your Mommy will hire him to babysit.

linch-mob mentality out there. zero tolerence for mistakes. we don't know if they really buried the bus that cojures up a picture of a guy in a backhoe literally burying a bus. that may well be, but is it really what happened? seems kinda unlikely. and 36 yrs. is a long f***ing time!

@ nikoleye---"Mistake"???? Kidnapping and burying all these people alive is a "mistake"? They would all be dead if they hadn't found a way to escape. This pos should have been executed many, many years ago. That's the ONLY sure way for him to not become a repeat offender.

Elementary my dear Watson. School children he and the other two buried alive, they were elementary school children. I hope for everyones sake he stays out of trouble.

MO you are a idiot! I garuntee some of those kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. They weren't hurt, they were not molested or anything like that. I'm guessing in your mind you are thinking that they are like yourself, a weak minded, babied-pamperd individual, who always relates everything that ever went wrong in your life to something that happened when you were younger. And now rather than get over it, you want the world to feel sorry for you. Let me guess, you were molested as a child? Abused? Boo Hoo, get over it!! Theres not a person out here that doesn't carry baggage in some form from their childhood, its babies like you that never let it rest...

WOW, I hope YOU are being monitored...maybe you and Pammy can get together.

LOLZ. . ."MISTAKE?" I never even THOUGHT of taking a school bus filled with 26 children, driving it into a quarry and burying the bus AND the children alive inside it. That said, I did inhale a Marlboro Light. . .once. Calling this man's crime a "mistake" is the epitome of a misnomer. . .a GINORMOUS misnomer. SMH!

MO you are a idiot! I garuntee some of those kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.-WOW #10.7s quote

I guarantee (proper spelling) that Elementary school children in no way thought being buried alive was 'the coolest thing ever'. If you had been reading posts from those who lived in the area at the time, it was far from that.

Based on the rest of your post, I'm guessing you are a young person who hasn't experienced enough of life to judge beyond your school-age experience. I truly hope you never have to deal with true heartache.

To know that this guy will be released because of poor math skills has got to be emotionally traumatizing to those people who probably have families of their own now, because, from an older-person's perspective, 1976 is not that long ago.

I don't want to hear about how this guy made a "mistake". A "mistake" is using the salad fork to eat one's entree, or (as we see so often here) a violation of the rules of grammar, or an error in spelling. This was twenty-six major FELONIES, for which he has not served even a year and a half apiece for yet.

It's what, a little over a year for each count? Sorry, the very number of victims and the very probability they could have died should have called for him never being released.

The rest can be the alibi

Thats ridiculous!!! Do you hear yourself??? How in the hell would that solve ANYTHING??? Just kill him off? That's it??? Yes, it was a horrible thing he did...but NO ONE DIED and he has served almost 40 years in prison!!! He did his time...its over and done with..make room for the a$$holes that actually killed or mamed someone.

Pamela Watson, his intent was to kill them. It is only because of the bus driver that they all survived. Maybe he won't reoffend -- at least not the same crime. But what is he going to do for income? Nobody is going to hire him. Will he rob a bank or liquor store and kill people there?

That's true Lynne, but courts don't charge people based on intent. Murder is murder and attempted murder is attempted murder. You can't charge someone for murder if nobody died.

its pretty difficult to collect a ransom with a bunch of dead kids, isn't it?

Hey Lynn you moron, read the effen story before you comment!!! They did not try and kill anyone. It was a ransom, do you know what that is? For a ransom to generally work, your abductees need to be alive. They were kept somewhere that they could easily be dug out of when the money was paid. So easily in fact that a bus driver and kids were able to dig themselves out. What they did was wrong, okay. BUT, they paid their due's to society. 36 years is a long, long time. We are not dealing with sexual deviants here, just 3 guys who made a huge mistake and have paid, IMO, for it and then some. Leave him alone, he'll do the same...

Hey, everybody, listen to Pam and WOW...the POS "only made a mistake", awwww poor baby should rot in jail!

Before you call other people names, you might want to reread your OWN comments! 'For a ransom to generally work, your abductees need to be alive'? WRONG! Numerous ransoms have been paid for people that were already dead! The people paying said ransom just didn't know it yet.

'They were kept somewhere that they could easily be dug out of when the money was paid. So easily in fact that a bus driver and kids were able to dig themselves out.' (emphasis added). Where in the story does it say that? It does state that the children and bus driver dug themselves out after 16 hours! And please, don't call what they did a 'MISTAKE'! Running a red light can be a mistake! This was calculated and planned. The exact opposite of a 'mistake'!

I agree...thank God no one was killed...but how can u deem him a psychopath? Are you medically qualified and have studied his background to make that diagnosis? How do you know he didn't better himself in prison? I think he should still be monitered...but he did his time! Save what little prison room we have for the actual child killers, rapists and all the other twisted people out there !!!

Pamela, you obviously don't get it. This living piece of excrement destroyed the lives of 26 children and their families. When is their sentence up? His should be up when theirs is. You keep asking how we the reader can judge him. WE judge him by his known behavior. No man with a scrap of decency decides the easiest answer to financial problems is to kidnap a bus full of children. Decent people work for a living. Earn money. Pay the bills. Maybe you are very young and living with Mommy and Daddy . Would yould look up to your Father if this was how he put food on your table? Would you marry a man capable of such an atrocity. Are you really so innocent? Bad people don't get better in Prison.

Mo, how do u know all their lives have been screwed up by this. People overcome the rotten things that happen to them. Thank God we have that ability. Lynne made a good point...his INTENT was to kill them, and they all would be gone if not for the bus driver...that is a valid point , and one that I did not take into my considerations. Mo, I agree, no MAN decides that what they did, was the best way to ease their financial problems. Back then, I am assuming (which I shouldn't) that they were stoned hippies, like the majority of the world back then, and came up with a lame plan to make some cash. But u r right...its not like they stole candy bars from the store and re-sold them...they STOLE A SCHOOLBUS OF PEOPLE!!! I cannot claim to understand why they chose to do that, as I am an intelligent human being! But, I was a stupid ass 20 year old !! Not many people can honestly say they had "it" all figured out at that age. I think I am placing too much consideration into the fact that 20 yr olds are not too bright...yet. No, I also understood that to survive I needed to work, pay bills, etc....just like u did. No..I would not look up to Dad if this was how he chose to take care of us. Thankfully, we had a Dad who's example we could follow. As soon as we were old enuf to work...we did...AND paid rent and bought our own clothes as teens. I am not as innocent as u may think, I just view the cup as half full and believe in PEOPLE and the process of REHABILITATION. I do (or try my best) not to judge people, but this is a place where we can...and share our thoughts. It is horrific to think of what could have possibly happened. Yes, they must have all had to live with the trauma of this event. I also believe that in order for them to proceed with their lives, they would have had to find a way to make peace with this. In his case, I do not know how he spent his prison time, do you? Is it possible that he furthered himself...perhaps rehabilitation, school or simply the maturation process? It would depend on what the prison offered and if he used the help to his advantage. Again, I am happy he was punished and even happier that no one died as a result of their stupid ass actions. I will still believe in people and their amazing ability to live, learn and grow from their life experiences. Lynne has me rethinking all of this. INTENT. I know I will be up into the wee hours contemplating this...that is probably ALL that I am positive of...that and THE HUMAN SPIRIT!!! I am thankful for this opportunity to express my view, and to read those opposing views! GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!

Pammie, you're as big a POS as the perpetrator. I am seriously worried that you and WOW are free to roam this earth. You two are scaring us all.

No worries Marlanie....I wouldn't waste my energy on you!!! BOO !!! Did I scare u again !!! HAHAHAHA..lol, lol

Pammie, you're as big a POS as the perpetrator. I am seriously worried that you and WOW are free to roam this earth. You two are scaring us all.

Actually Marlane, you scare me more. Awesome name calling by the way(so adult of you so I'll really listen to the points you have to make).

Why are you scaring me more? It is rather simple really. WOW and Pamela and others like them are critical thinkers. I would rather surround myself with people who can think for themselves, no matter how different we are, than ever be around someone who only follows the masses. Masses like that are why Hitler came into power, why we have gone into senseless wars while our troops---to cope---developed drug habits, killed themselves, etc. Maybe you are not one of the masses, but my guess is you are since all you could intelligently do was make fun of someone because they have the ability to see past blind hate...especially when you said she was no better than this man because she chose to think. That says a ton about the person you are, even if you think otherwise. Good day.

Daniel, they buried the school bus itself, not coffins, and not in a cave.

This "bozo" was sentenced to life in prison. He spent 37 years in prison instead.

The Stanford crook was sentenced to 110 years, but you don't know how long he's going to spend there.

You can't compare the two until the other guy's sentence is over.

So go kill him. Then the judicial system will have you behind bars. I get that people hate to have to think things through or evolve any type of critical thinking skill to really figure life out...what about the guys who do far worse and out walking on the street after 5 years? What do you want to do to them?...but what is even more shocking is that so many of you have the mindset that acting just as this man did is somehow justice. If you gave me the opportunity to live in the same neighborhood as you or I had to live next to him, I am choosing him. Why? I'd rather know I might be living next to a person who could be crazy than have to live next to ten of you who could all be crazy and I likely would only realize you are crazy right before you are about to kill me.