Murdered couple become part of political battle

KENT COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A murdered West Michigan couple have become part of a political battle with just days left until the election.

Norma and Robert Bean were found murdered in early October. Investigators believe the couple was taken from their Howard City home, then killed in a gravel pit in Kent County.

Two men, 28-year-old Timothy Stephan and 25-year-old Robert Fisk, stand accused of the crime and both are being held at the Kent County jail.

State Republican lawmakers have begun pointing to the case as an example of people being released early from prison.

"Our parents were murdered by two non-violent offenders who received an early release from prison," said Tim Bean.

Tim Bean was part of a news conference sponsored by the House Republican Campaign Committee.

"We sat with the Bean family and said, something needs to be clarified in the press," said Senator Alan Cropsey, a Republican from Dewitt.

The implication the Republicans are making is that Timothy Stephan and Robert Fisk were part of an early release from prison prior to the October deaths of Norma and Robert Bean.

Newschannel 3 headed to the Department of Corrections to check the records.

"Were they part of an early release?" said DOC spokesperson Russ Marlin. "Absolutely not."

Marlin said that no prisoner can be released before serving a minimum sentence set by a judge.

"There is no early release in Michigan after truth in sentencing passed in 1998," Marlin said.

Here's a look at the records of Stephan and Fisk.

Timothy Stephan was convicted on a breaking and entering and larceny charge in October of 2000 and he served three years, which was more than the minimum sentence. He was convicted by a district court for misdemeanor domestic violence in January of 2006, he went to a county jail for that, then on to prison because that crime was a parole violation.

Robert Fisk served a year and a half on a breaking and entering conviction and was released in 2007. In March of 2007 he went to a 30 day detention program for failing to report to his parole officer.