A Michigan father has lashed out at President Joe Biden after he commuted the death sentence of the rapist who killed his daughter and granddaughter.
Marvin Gabrion, 71, was awaiting execution for the 1997 murder of 19-year-old Rachel Timmerman before his sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Timmerman disappeared two days before she was scheduled to testify against Gabrion for raping her.
Gabrion restrained the teen, covering her eyes and mouth with duct tape, before chaining her to concrete blocks and throwing her into a lake while she was still alive.
Gabrion also allegedly killed Timmerman’s 11-month-old daughter Shannon Verhage, whose body was never found.
Timmerman’s father Tim has now spoken HoutTV after being informed of the redemption.
He denounced the decision, saying: ‘We thought the timing was despicable. We felt that President Biden could have waited until after the holidays.
“I think President Biden offered a Christmas gift to the perpetrators of the murder, but all he did was hurt the victims’ families.”
Timmerman, seen here with her young daughter Shannon, disappeared two days before she was scheduled to testify against Gabrion for raping her
Gabrion, seen here, restrained the teen, covering her eyes and mouth with duct tape, before chaining her to concrete blocks and throwing her into a lake.
He continued: ‘You can’t imagine anyone who deserved it more than Mr Gabrion, he killed at least five people. What is the justice in just giving him a prison bed where he can die in comfort?”
‘We offered to exchange the death penalty for information about my granddaughter, but Gabrion wouldn’t tell us. That has always been a hole in my heart.’
According to DailyMail.com appellate records, Gabrion admitted to killing Shannon while in custody to fellow inmates.
He allegedly told an inmate that he “killed the baby because he had nowhere else to put it.”
The same records show that in the weeks leading up to the disappearance, Rachel had expressed concerns that she believed Gabrion would kill her over the rape case.
She had called the local sheriff’s office twice to report that she had seen him and that she wanted to leave a “trail” if she disappeared.
Rachel was expected to appear in court to testify on June 5, 1997, while her family last saw her on June 3.
Biden’s move on Monday spared the lives of 37 of the 40 people currently on federal death row.
Only three federal prisoners remain executed, including the Boston Marathon bomber and hate crime murderers.
Timmerman’s father Tim, seen here, spoke to WoodTV after being informed of the buyout
According to DailyMail.com’s appellate records, Gabrion admitted to killing Shannon while in custody to fellow inmates
Biden’s move on Monday spared the lives of 37 of the 40 people currently on federal death row
“I have dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in an obtained statement.
“Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole.
“This commutation is consistent with my administration’s moratorium on federal executions other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass killings.”
Those not spared include Dylann Roof, who performed the performance Racist killings in 2015 of nine black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who shot and killed 11 congregants in Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history.
Biden’s latest move could shock an America where 53 percent of people support the death penalty, first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, who oversees federal prisons, is said to have recommended that the president omit all but a handful of cases involving terrorism and hate crimes.
In addition to Gabrion, other murderers, bank robbers, kidnappers and rapists will also escape federal execution.
These individuals include convicted murderers Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who kidnapped a woman after escaping from prison, convicted car thief, and Marcivicci Barnette, who murdered a man and his ex-girlfriend; another man, Anthony Battle, who killed a prison guard.
In addition, a man who took part in a murder-for-hire killing of a naval officer and Thomas Sanders, who murdered a 12-year-old girl, will be spared from execution.
Several convicted bank robbers – who killed innocent victims during their crimes – are also being pardoned, including Billie Allen and Norris Holder, Brandon Council and Daryl Lawrence.