By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The last of three men convicted of hijacking a school bus full of California children for an attempted $5 million ransom in 1976 — in what a prosecutor called"the largest mass kidnapping in U.S. history" — is being released by the state's parole board.
Newsom said Woods"continued to engage in financial related-misconduct in prison," using a contraband cellphone to offer advice on running a Christmas tree farm, a gold mining business and a car dealership. The governor couldn't block Woods' release because he's not convicted of murder, and could only urge the parole board to take a closer look.
Woods wasn't eligible to attend in person on Tuesday. But he said during his parole hearing in March that he felt he needed money to have acceptance from his parents and"was selfish and immature at that time," while his more recent violations were to benefit the trust fund left him by his late parents.
"I don't get to choose the random flashbacks every time I see a van similar to the one that we were transported in," she told the board. "His mind is still evil and he is out to get what he wants," she told the board."I want him to serve life in prison, just as I served a lifetime of dealing with the PTSD due to his sense of entitlement."