Jacob Woods convicted in 1978 murders of two young men in Kalispell

Jacob Woods has spent more than half of his life in prison for running over two young men as they rode a bicycle near the Kalispell City Airport.

Next week, the state Board of Pardons and Parole will decide whether that's enough time.

The board will consider Woods' request for freedom Dec. 29 at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

Woods was 16 when he ran down Ronald Johnson, 17, and Phillip Kessner, 21, in September 1978, over money they allegedly owed him for LSD that Woods had given them to sell. The murders went unsolved for a couple of years. Then, a tip to the Crimestoppers program led Kalispell police to Woods.

By then, he was in Oklahoma.

Woods was returned to Flathead County to stand trial in October 1981; a jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. In 1985, he was sentenced to another five years for being a prison inmate in possession of a deadly weapon.

Woods would have served only a fraction of his sentence if he had stayed out of trouble.

He was paroled in June 1993. He violated terms of his probation by testing positive for marijuana in 1994 and was sent back to prison.

Woods was denied parole in 1998 and 2000. In denying Woods' release in 2000, the Parole Board cited his misconduct in the prison, the severity of his crimes, and his poor history under parole/probation supervision. The board report indicated that Woods had eight violations of conduct in the prison during the previous year. The report also said that Woods needed improvement in his institutional conduct and custody level, and that he could request another appearance before the board "upon one year of clear conduct, custody reduction and with an updated psychological" evaluation.

He is on annual review status, though that doesn't mean he goes through a formal parole hearing each year.

Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan said he plans to go to the hearing to oppose Woods' release.

"He killed two people. By all accounts, he has failed to take any responsibility or show any remorse," Corrigan said. "The punishment must measure up to the nature of the crime." Woods has "forfeited his right to be a member of the community" and should spend his life in prison, he said.

Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner was, like Woods, a Kalispell teenager when the murders occurred. He also will go to Deer Lodge to oppose Woods' parole.

"I don't know how many chances you're supposed to get after you kill two people," Garner said.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at [email protected].