California Governor Jerry Brown allowed parole for one of the three men convicted in 1976 for the kidnapping of 26 children and their school bus driver.
The governor was given until Thursday at midnight to decide whether to provide parole to 63-year-old James Schoenfeld or return the case to the board that endorsed his discharge. Brown decided not to act, so the parole board's decision still stands, according to the Associated Press.
Schoenfeld, his brother Richard and their friend Fred Woods all came from wealthy families in the San Francisco Bay Area. The three convicts spent 18 months to devise a plan to kidnap the driver and all the children on a school bus.
They were able to kidnap bus driver Ed Ray and the 26 passengers, all of whom were children ages 5 to 14 and were students from the Dairyland Union School District, according to The New York Times.
The hostages were taken to a quarry near Livermore and were hidden in a ventilated trailer, which was stocked with mattresses, food and water. The scheme went awry when the hostages were able to escape while the kidnappers were sleeping.
After pleading guilty to the charges, the three were given life sentences. Later on, an appeals court reduced their sentences to life with a chance for parole, according to CBS Sacramento.
