School bus kidnapper Frederick Woods may be released on parole | USA TODAY

Frederick Woods was convicted of kidnapping a bus full of children and burying them alive in 1976.

RELATED: Missing 4-year-old Cleo Smith found alive after abduction

At his parole hearing on Friday, Woods read an apology for his crime. “I’ve had empathy for the victims which I didn’t have then,” he said. “I’ve had a character change since then. I was 24 years old," he added. "Now I fully understand the terror and trauma I caused. I fully take responsibility for this heinous act.”

Because Woods committed the crime when he was young, he falls into a California law that requires parole commissioners to give greater weight to freeing inmates who were convicted in their youth, but are now elderly and have served long prison sentences.

» Subscribe to USA TODAY:
» Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY:
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.

#TrueCrime #Kidnapping #FrederickWoods

4 comments

  1. I am an Ultra-liberal. EXCEPT:
    When you mess with little kids, you forfeit your right to continue to walk free among us.
    Senators blasted Judge Jackson for leniency on predators.
    Senators should enact legislation that crimes against children are either life without parole or capital punishment..
    Protect our children already.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.