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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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This guy should have been executed 25 years ago.
They should bury him alive first. If he gets out, then he can go free. POS
I seriously wonder what kind of qualifications you need to be on a parole board.
Main qualification: THE ABILITY TO NOT THINK CLEARLY
I would have thought he should have gotten 26 consecutive life sentences?
Release him and send him to the Watts section of LA.
from this article, it sounds like a beaurocratic error was made and this creep is benefitted
sure would be nice if the deceased bus driver could "come to the rescue" from his grave !
He's gonna get out,And do the Same thing.And Seeing some of the Prison Fraud that happens,Right from prison,He has his Victims,Selected,Already.I just hope they are not Children..This Time!!
The bus driver is no longer living to see this happen.
If I was a member of the bus driver's family or any one of the kids that were on that bus - who by now have families of their own - I would all be standing in two lines when he walks out of that prison. Each adult who was a child back then should hold a picture of what they looked like I'd make him walk the gauntlet and have the people in the lines say absolutely nothing. Looks can say a lot....ask my son....he's knows what the "mama look" is.
I truly hope that this man spends the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. More than likely, he will get the heck out of Dodge (California) because everyone knows him there. Unfortunately, the other 49 states can't force California to make remaining in California a part of his probation requirements because the rest of us don't want him!
And if he is leaving California, I think that billboard across the country should advertise his photograph, what he did, and that California is releasing him because he's been a good boy all these years.
they should bury him in a bus and give him a spoon
They should parole all the kidnappers straight to a deeply buried bus in the rock quarry. Problem solved.
Let's vote to Hold the Parole Board Responsible for any trouble this person might cause !!!!
This man is evil, he has never been rehabilitated and will be a risk to everyone. For those that posted "he did his time" The children that were in that bus when it was buried are grown up now, and most are still subject to nightmares and fears. This man will commit another horrible act, and be back in jail in no time.
36 years is a long long time. He has spent a lot more time than most killers. I just hear a bunch of scared little babies who are afraid the boogie man is going to get out and come to get them. He deserved to serve 36 years but I'm satisfied with that as a punishment for a crime that didn't kill anyone. You people are all spewing such hatred and violence that I'm more concerned about that. I think he's done his time. That's my opinion. I am entitled to that, right? Peace!
His intention was to let them die, they just managed to escape. He needs to rot in prison.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Unfortunately, yours waivers far from those that think sanely. There are just some criminals you don't take chances on; this being one of them. Maybe he will move next door to you, your children or grandchildren and soon. Wonder if your skin won't crawl then. It's not about hate, it's about doing what's in the best interest of society. Letting him out from behind bars which ensures our safety is clearly not the right thing to do. Thank you parol board for your decision. It's not enough we have to already be overly cautious in today's society in our surroundings? Good job-you help to restore my faith in mankind and the laws we have enacted.
If he wanted to kill them; why did he provide them with food, water, and ventilation for air? Doesn't compute for me.
They let people, more violent than this man, out of jail every day because of over crowding. Why all the out rage over this guy. The let violent people out to make room for drug users and pot smokers. The war on drugs is so important they let people who hurt you and steal from you out of jail. Does that make sense? Someone who smokes pot can live next door to me any time. I don't want the guy who stuck a gun in someones face and robbed them living next door to me. Quit putting people in prison for drug use! Keep violent prisoners in jail! Make sense? I still think 36 years is enough time to get another chance.
You don't have to be psychic to predict this will not be the last we hear of this character.
Depending on where this 'undisclosed location' is, this creep will have to be watching his back for a number of years. The residents of Chowchilla haven't forgotten what he did, but the parole board appears to have taken leave of their senses.
Maybe if we're lucky, a stray bullet will happen to find him very soon after his release. No great loss!
I really feel for the now-grown kids who were in that bus and all the mental garbage they have had to deal with. Releasing this piece of sicko trash must be like a slap in the face to them.
The average time served in this country for murder is 5.5 years. (41 months in California) I think 36 years for a crime where no one was killed is enough. It's funny how we only keep high profile killers in jail forever. The average everyday nobody killers get out in a few years. How about letting all the marijuana criminals out of prison and keeping a few of the truly dangerous people in there for a little longer. You're all worried about one person when every day they let murders and rapists back on the street after only serving a few years in jail due to over crowding. Priorities people! Lots of violent people that should be kept in jail. Before you worry about this guy lets empty our jails and make some real room for violent criminals. Legalize marijuana!
The average time served in this country is way below what it should be for many acts of violence. That is a given. Responsible people and those concerned about their safety and well being are concerned about ALL and any bad criminal having a release date. Statistics have proven most are not rehabilitated. Like stated before, some may warrant a second chance. Not this one.
Your last two words summed you up well. No wonder you spew off your mouth the way you do when marijuana is what's on your mind.
Society is made up of all kinds, is it not? Some good, some not so good...
See, just like you can predict what this guy will do when he gets out, you also know all about me don't you? How do you know I smoke marijuana. What a arrogant a$$hole! I've listened to you spew your ignorant crap on here all day. Legalizing marijuana would free up jail cells to keep people, like you want, in jail for their whole life. I won't even go into what else legalizing marijuana would do for this country, mainly the economy, with an idiot like you. I would surely be wasting my breath. Moron!
Good News now the public can give him his just reward! It's a dish best served cold...
Under the same rock quarry, but still alive trying to free himself, where he buried those kids I should think.
LOL at half of you not reading the whole story. THE KIDS AND BUS DRIVER ESCAPED UNHARMED. He still deserves to rot in jail until he dies. He buried those kids thinking they would die. So he should die.
If they need to parole an inmate to relieve prison overcrowding.... couldn't they find a few drug dealers to free? Someone who kidnaps a bus load of children... doesn't belong in society.
I knew one of the kids that had been on the bus. Met him back in the mid 90's at the company he worked for in Beaverton Oregon. Reading this story brought that memory back and I really feel bad for him and all the others who were on the bus. :-(
I know the man has "done" his time, but sometimes it's just not long enough...
With his picture everywhere, he won't live a week after getting out. So sad. NOT.
America. Time to wake up and get a clue. This whole thing happened some 36 years ago. I'm sure that he is not the same human being that he was 36 years ago. I know I'm not. Please allow me to point out some very pertinent facts. Out of some 180 nations on the planet, the United States is the world's largest jailer with about 25% of all the inmates on the planet. It is also the 5th most prolific executioner on the planet. It is in a class with the likes of China, Iran, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Way to go America!! You're number one!
You have become a nation of ignorant, selfish, and arrogant fools. You have this lock 'em up and throw away the key mentality, which is costing billions and billions of your dollars, but you don't mind, because you love it. You complain endlessly about how your tax dollars go to help those on welfare, when you should be complaining about how it is going to support the top 1%, which is where your tax dollars are going by the way.
When election day comes around, many of you fail to even show up to the polls, and if and when you do, many of you wind up voting against your interests. How pathetic!!!
I am going to move to Canada, where I can finally live in a civilized and sane society for a change!!
Please take your liberal a-- to Canada. If you need help with the bus ticket, I'm sure that there are millions willing to help you get outtahere.
Go ahead, get out of here. I'd love to see your reaction if one of those kids buried alive was yours. Hypocrite!
Well, I just knew when I "turned the page" to the next group of posts there would be "another one like you" feeling it necessary to share your stupidity. Just maybe the criminal being released very soon from prison will show up at your doorstep in Canada. Glad to see you go---certainly no loss to us. Don't let the door hit you on your A$$ on your way out.
Such a shame the victims today would have to endure more possible pain and suffering from reading posts like yours.
Your bags packed yet?
Thanks for making my case about this country!! You are indeed a bunch of ignorant selfish idiots, not all, but most of you are.
It would finally be "Justice" if after he gets out of prison, and wherever the state puts him, that he is walking the street and he gets hit and killed by a school bus!!!!
Maybe he can even get a job as a school bus driver when he gets out.
sandie1962
In California, they will propably recuit him for that job!