For five months, Betty Thomas and her family have prepared for the possible parole of a former Woodland man who was convicted of fatally beating Thomas’ 22-month-old grandson back in 1983.

But last week, Gov. Jerry Brown reversed the state Board of Parole Hearings’ parole recommendation for Christopher Michael Fowler, saying his lack of remorse for causing Aaron Miller’s death makes him “a danger to society.”

Thomas, of Woodland, said she and her family were relieved to hear of the reversal Monday night.

“He doesn’t seem to be upset about murdering that baby,” said Thomas, who has attended several of Fowler’s 13 parole hearings. “I think the governor realized that people don’t think he’s changed that much.”

Fowler, 49, has been serving a 15-years-to-life prison sentence for his actions on Nov. 1, 1983, that led to Aaron’s death.

Fowler had been babysitting the child while his girlfriend — Aaron’s mother Tina Miller — worked. Authorities said Fowler, who had not slept the night before, became agitated when Aaron would not stop crying after being put down for a nap.

As Aaron’s 3-year-old sister Christy watched, Fowler struck the toddler in the head and twice threw him to the ground.

Authorities said Fowler also prevented Thomas, who lived next door at the time, from taking the injured child to the hospital. He lay in a coma for two days before succumbing to his head injuries, which doctors compared to a fall from a three-story building.

Fowler was later convicted of second-degree murder.

In November 2010, the Board of Parole Hearings found Fowler suitable for parole and scheduled a tentative release date. Several supporters had written letters offering employment upon Fowler’s release.

But Aaron’s family, the Woodland Police Department and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department submitted letters to the governor urging a reversal.

Brown reversed the decision earlier this month, saying in an April 7 letter that while Fowler had made efforts to improve himself with education, vocational training and self-help programs while in prison, he “has offered no credible explanation” for his offense, which Brown described as “appalling and senseless.”

“The utter inhumanity of Mr. Fowler’s crime coupled with his inability or unwillingness to understand, own, or achieve some credible level of insight tells me that there is a substantial risk of danger to the public were he to be released from prison,” Brown wrote.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, whose office argued against Fowler’s release at his November parole hearing, praised the decision.

“Clearly, Governor Brown reviewed all the evidence and made the right call,” Reisig said in a news release. “Our community cannot risk having a man who savagely killed a baby for no apparent reason living back among us.”

Fowler, who remains incarcerated at California State Prison Solano in Vacaville, will have another opportunity for a parole hearing within a year.

Meanwhile, Thomas says she treasures her memories of her young grandson, who enjoyed picking flowers and playing with cars and balls. Tina Miller died several years ago after battling multiple sclerosis.

“He would have been married and had little children too, probably,” Thomas said, weeping. “You never get over it.”

— Reach Lauren Keene at [email protected] or (530) 747-8048.

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Aaron Miller, shortly before he was killed at 22 months old in 1983. Courtesy photo

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