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California Department of Corrections
Richard Schoenfeld, the convicted kidnapper who took 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver in Chowchilla, Calif., 36 years ago, is expected to be released from prison within the next week.
Richard Schoenfeld, the convicted kidnapper who took 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver in Chowchilla, Calif., and buried them alive in a rock quarry 36 years ago, is expected to be released from prison within the next week, NBC Bay Area has learned.
That is a big change from the 2021 parole date that Schoenfeld was last given.
But in a statement Friday to NBCBayArea.com, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Luis Patino said: "Schoenfeld will be released to an undisclosed location during the second half of the month of June 2012. As this is a developing situation, no other details are available at this time.”
See the original story at NBCBayArea.com
Patino added that the prison body has "been informed that the California Supreme Court has declined to review an appellate court's earlier decision granting immediate parole to Richard Schoenfeld. As such CDCR does not have any legal option other than to release inmate Shoenfeld and will do so."
Schoenfeld, his brother, James Schoenfeld, and Frederick Woods kidnapped 26 children and their bus driver on July 15, 1976, buried them alive in a rock quarry in Livermore, Calif., and then planned to demand a $5 million ransom. The victims miraculously escaped.
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.
In March, the First District Court ruled that California's Board of Parolee Hearings improperly calculated Schoenfeld's release date after determining in 2008 that he could be safely paroled.
James Schoenfeld and Woods never have been found suitable for parole by the state board.
The trio, who were in their mid-20s at the time of the kidnapping, said they had fallen into debt because of a failed real estate deal and hatched the elaborate kidnapping as a way to rid themselves of financial worry, The Associated Press reported.
Laws in effect in 1977 when the three pleaded guilty made Richard Schoenfeld, and who hailed from a wealthy family in upscale Atherton, Calif., eligible for parole after only six months, but like the others, his parole was routinely denied, largely because of the seriousness of his crimes.
There have been a series of significant dates in Schoenfeld's legal case:
In 2008, the parole board ruled that Schoenfeld "would not pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society or a threat to public safety if released from prison."
But in August 2009, a second panel decided against granting parole to Schoenfeld, saying that a third panel should consider whether granting parole would be "improvident."
On April 5, 2011, the third panel held its hearing on the matter at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, where all three kidnappers are being held, and it ruled that parole would be appropriate for Schoenfeld.
But the panel said that based on its calculations Schoenfeld should not be released until November 2021.
However, the First District Court of Appeal said the parole panel "erred" because it violated its own rules and lacked authority to increase Schoenfeld's sentence after finding him suitable for parole.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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He should have rotted behind bars for the rest of his life... 27 accounts of kidnapping thats roughly 1.33 years for each count he should of got multiple life sentences if not death.
I have no idea how "reformed" this guy is now, after so many years in jail, nor do I really care. They should have locked him up FOREVER and thrown away the key. He is a threat to society! I remember this case well, it was so horrifying.
A flawed justice system orchestrated by flawed people. Crime is a terrorism as terrorism is a crime.
I don't think this guy will luck out on release.
He was a loser with a screw loose then, do you think he changed? These prisons should have a EXPRESS line to the chair. 36 years at how much a year to keep him in prison? Times that by the millions of scumbags that are eating us out of house and home. And we wonder why this country is going down the toilet between the cost of keeping all these badasses in prison and the intitlement programs. Easy to see why were BROKE.
Dam, that's one ugly looking sob. They should keep him in jail for life just for looking so ugly
I love the "he served his time" and "nobody died" crowds. Tell you what, say hellow to your new house guest. How would that sit with you? I think these parole boards and the state need to have a certain amount of accountability when letting these creeps loose. I just can't imagine what kind of F'ed up laws would make one eligible for parole in just six months for 27 counts of kidnapping? what kind of dope were California lawmakers smoking in 1977? These people would probably not have a problem with charles manson being cut loose. After old he's a harmless little old man now. I think prisons would be less crowded if they were there for the purpose of punishing people. Instead they get three square a day, not to mention cable tv, gyms, libraries etc etc. Pathetic. ~G
Most are outraged and this is normal, to find pathetic outcomes of such heinous beginnings. So typical though that people will immediately start to call for heinous acts themselves for correction of these atrocities. I agree that this release is a horrible mistake.... and now cannot be reversed due to a judicial rule?? This is Idiotic!!
The same idiotic reasoning as chiming in thinking all of these kids died because of laziness in not reading the story before shooting off at the mouth.
The same idiotic reasoning that protests a tries to lay blame on a political party or individual polititian that had no connection with any of it.
AND the same idiotic reasoning that can't try to correct these outrageous judicial screwups for being too busy whining, bitching and pointing fingers at someone else for not catching this recurring type of injustice.
People, time to start being smart and trying to fix things rather that bitch about it with no attempt at actions toward fixing it...The blame game gets in the way while this S>O>B> will walk free and perhaps try to bury your child because he lost money in a risky real estate venture. So many people are as pathetic as this one. Grow some testicular fortitude and do something about it! Or, you are a part of the problem too.
To the families of the children I have but one thing to say I Am So Sorry now go find this p o s and do what should have been done years ago. Hang him!!!!! I would! No Justice Here None What-so-ever. Shame on you California.
This is an abomination at it's finest!!
OK, he was sentenced, he served his time, now he's eligible for parole. Whether he deserves to be free is irrelevant. Does he deserve a second chance? Does anyone deserve a second chance?
Let's get real ! Robbers do more to more time in prison than child molesters do in this country .
I'm surprised this man spent 36 years in jail ! He never planned to go back and save those kids , left without food and water for 18 hours ! Thank God the bus driver got those little souls out . What if one or more of those children needed their medication to live ? He was going to let 36 children die a horrible terrifying and painful death !
Just try to imagine those crying children in the dark 36 of them ! hungry , cold , scared out of their minds ! Now place yourself as the bus driver knowing what will happen if you don't get help , food & water ! he had to be strong for 36 children !!! Now he did it I will never know ...
Now place yourself in the parents shoes when their babies didn't come home image all the horrible thoughts you would be thinking !!! My God I would have driven myself to insanity !
Don't take this lightly .
This pos needs to stay his worthless Godless ass in prison and die there !
If one of those helpless children was your son , daughter , niece or nephew you'd be screaming for justice .
Just because no one died , as some of you stated , doesn't mean let's forgive ! I hope someone sees and takes some old fashioned justice to him and I beg God for it to be painful .
...Why do "shrinks" and "parole boards"(law) always shoot themselves in the foot, at the expense of "we" innocent people ???
...God Bless America... AGAIN...
In reading some of these comments really tells me just how desensitized we as a society have become. Yes he served 36 years in prison, and prison is in no way glorious. It is a nasty gross place to live or work. These were children they kidnapped. Those of you who have said he served his sentence let him free, you apparently have no kids. This is supposed to be the best time of their lives, not burdened with a traumatic experience. I read somewhere you know your chilhood is over the moment you know your going to die. Now I disagree.
If people think they have to protect their children from every thing big or small that might happen to their offspring they are contributing to the problem.
i agree he's not a threat to any one so he should be taken off the burden of the tax payer with the safe guard in place to send police a red flag if he has any failed ventures.
This isn't a oh look at liberal California argument this is a California is effin broke and its prisons are dangerously over crowded with three strikes offenders and people with non-violent drug offenses. With all these idiotic mandatory minimum sentence laws passed in the 80's and 90's California can't touch a good percentage of it's prison population, so murderers,pedophiles, and kidnappers get to get let go.
this is not about people dieing it's about after 36 years is he threat to socicity should he be paroled the people who know best who are in charge of these things say yes,so ok,now if anyone had died he would have had the death sentence and would have been history long ago,so live and respect our laws and justice system or go live in another country stone him, hire him killed with no drawback,chop his head off and dump him along side the road,on and on,go live there,im sure they have room for you.
Bury this dude in a rock quarry and see if he can "miraculously escape."
this is what happens when you have a prison system full of dirty stinky illegals. you need to make room for them so you let out the people who are believed to be the least threat. maybe they should try letting out all the young men in prison for pot possession? that would make room for the dirty, smelly, stealing, drug dealing Mexicans.
I remember when this happened; didn't live too far away at the time. It was every child's nightmare. I saw a program awhile back where the now-adult victims were interviewed.....most of them suffer from PTSD among other problems. How do you give those people their lives back? This experience defines them. These children didn't just sit there in a buried bus singing Kumbayah while their bus driver performed a miracle to save them. They suffered in there. They were terrified. They were hungry. They were thirsty. They had to go to the bathroom in their seats. A lot of indignities that the perps simply didn't care about then and don't now. California....you suck.
i would like to ask every one. are you the same person you were 36 years ago ? i know i am not. 36 years ago i was on drugs, now i am a preacher. i would like to think this man has changed, i remember when this happened , i thought back then that the best place for him was under the prison. but he has done his time, i hope he is a better man, forgivness is some times tough to swallow ,bitter in the mouth but sweet in the belly=o).i do want him to be on parole, and need to check in, i remember being young and very stupid
It is not fair he is out and not the other 2. Go and demand that they also be released also. Then you can take care of them until they get a job.
Yea, pretty much I am the same person as I was at a young age. Thoughtful, responsible, law abiding......
You can certainly forgive, forgetting never. All that can be done for the criminal as he sits behind bars permanently for the remainder of his life since the death penalty was not issued at the time.
While I understand some of the anger on these comments, there is something to think about. If the penalty imposed for this crime was close to or equal to what it would be if some of the victims had died, wouldn't that be sending a message out that there's nothing to lose by eliminating all the potential witnesses? With advancements in investigative tools and knowledge, witness description has seemingly become less of a necessity than in the past (and often unreliable), but criminals probably aren't thinking along those lines. Probably more along the lines of what do I have to risk (penalty) against what do I have to gain. This guy has wasted a majority of his life rotting away in a prison and will be considered a pariah for the rest of his life. Think Karma.
Why was he in jail or any of them? They just needed some money so it doesn't matter how they go about getting it. Let the other 2 out with him.
Wow--you people sure are a frightened bunch of wimps--ooooo, I'm scared to death of a 60-year-old man who has been in prison for 36 years. America: home of the brave? More like home of the whiney cry babies afraid of their own shadows.
I dont' even know you and I am ashamed of your stupid comment. Whether trying to be funny or not, think before you speak. Clearly, if you read previous posts, you would see and know that one of the victims added her post regarding her lifetime feelings from that horrific event that will carry over with her for life. Once again so maybe you get it......Think before you speak and try putting yourself in the victim's shoes before you spew off your mouth. How disrespectful. Your mentality is clearly part of what's wrong with society today.
Anybody who has been the victim of a crime can have PTSD. Even if you just had a gun stuck in your face and your wallet taken. Does that mean that that criminal should stay in jail until the victim gets over it? I'm not sticking up for criminals here but your argument doesn't hold water. No one died and 36 years is a long long time.
This man buried more than 2 dozen children alive. Why would they let him out?
Well, the public now has his picture of what he now looks like.
All that needs to be done is to print it up and post it in public places. He is bound to show up somewhere and, well, up to that community on how to welcome him.......