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Court Orders Release Of Chowchilla Bus Kidnapper

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Chowchilla, kidnapping, quarry,

Investigators at a Livermore quarry where kidnapped Chowchilla schoolchildren were buried, July, 1976. (CBS)

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS / AP) — An appeals court has ordered that an infamous Chowchilla bus kidnapper be immediately released from prison, unless state officials appeal the decision.

The 1st District Court of Appeal on Tuesday said Richard Schoenfeld has served his sentence after 34 years behind bars and should be released from prison as soon as possible.

The appellate court said the Board of Parole Hearings unfairly set his release date for 2021 even though it concluded he wasn’t a threat to society.

The court ordered Schoenfeld released immediately unless prison officials appeal to the California Supreme Court. A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment late Friday.

Schoenfeld his brother and a friend each pleaded guilty in 1977 to holding 26 students and their bus driver hostage in a buried truck. All escaped unharmed.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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  • OneLiberal who Doesn’t Coddle Punks

    Perp “pleaded guilty in 1977 to holding 26 students and their bus driver hostage in a buried truck. All escaped unharmed.”

    Escaped unharmed (?) – no thanks to the perps. The victims were left to roast in the sun and die buried inside the bus! I call that ATTEMPTED MURDER. 27 counts.

    I’m sure some of those victims would also take issue with the ‘unharmed’ designation – since a number still suffer from the mental trauma of their ordeal.

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    [...] for a short time today after a car slammed into a fire hydrant and flooded the area. A car … Court Orders Release Of Chowchilla Bus KidnapperAn appeals court has ordered that an infamous Chowchilla bus kidnapper be immediately released from [...]

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    [...] said that it would release Richard Schoenfeld later this month to an undetermined location. An appeals court earlier this year ordered Schoenfeld’s immediate release after ruling the Board of Parole Hearings unfairly set his release date for 2021 even though it [...]

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