Lansing, MI – On Monday, President Joe Biden announced a historic decision to commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates, sparing them from execution and instead sentencing them to life in prison. Among those granted clemency was Marvin Gabrion, a Michigan man convicted for the 1997 murder of 19-year-old Rachel Timmerman.
Gabrion, who had been sentenced to death in 2002, was convicted of murdering Timmerman after she disappeared from her home in June 1997. Timmerman, who was on a date with Gabrion, had told her father she would be accompanied by her 11-month-old daughter. Neither Timmerman nor her daughter ever returned home. A month later, Timmerman’s body was discovered in the Manistee National Forest in Newaygo County, Michigan. She had been bound, gagged, and weighted down with concrete blocks before being thrown into a lake, where she drowned. Timmerman had previously accused Gabrion of sexual assault and had expressed fears for her life after running into him on two occasions, believing he might kill her.
Despite the gruesome nature of the crime and the victim’s allegations, Gabrion will now serve a life sentence instead of facing execution, following President Biden’s decision to reduce the federal death row population.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to the commutation, noting that President Biden had kept a campaign promise regarding his stance on the death penalty. “I think it’s a promise he made when he ran for office,” Nessel said. “I think it’s long-standing policy, and he fulfilled that commitment.”
The commutation affects the majority of federal inmates on death row, though three individuals were not spared. Among those remaining on death row are the perpetrators of some of the most high-profile crimes in recent U.S. history, including the gunman responsible for the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, the assailant behind the Mother Emanuel Church massacre in Charleston, and the surviving Boston Marathon bomber.
Biden’s decision marks a significant moment in his administration’s approach to criminal justice reform, reflecting his long-standing opposition to the death penalty. This move also comes as the U.S. continues to grapple with debates over capital punishment, with many states having already abolished it.
