Popular Pastor Pushed for Parole of Daughter's Ex-Con Husband Who Killed Their 4 Children
Faith Green, 39, a Christian mother who was tortured by her 49-year-old ex-con husband Gregory Green, then forced to watch as he allegedly murdered their four children last month in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, has been revealed to be the daughter of a popular pastor who had pushed for her husband's parole.
Detroit police said Gregory Green, who served time for fatally stabbing his pregnant first wife, Tanya Green, with a steak knife 25 years earlier, called 911 last month to report the killings of his own two children, Koi, 5, and Kaleigh, 4, and his stepchildren, Chadney Allen, 19, and Kara Allen, 17.
When police arrived and went into the home in Dearborn Heights they discovered Faith, in the basement bound with duct tape and zip ties. Green allegedly cut Faith's face with a box cutter and shot her foot before shooting the two older children in front of her. She is currently recovering from her injuries.
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Details highlighted by The Detroit News from documents released by the Michigan Department of Corrections, however, revealed Wednesday that Faith's father, Fred Harris, 78, a popular pastor with the Church of the Risen Christ Ministries International in Detroit, was instrumental in helping the killer of his grandchildren get parole in 2008 after he had been denied four times in part for showing no remorse for his earlier crime.
In two letters supporting Green's release, Pastor Harris described his future son-in-law as a former congregant and friend. The preacher, whose Inner Healing and Deliverance Ministry focuses on "prayer and counseling to make salvation fully effective in all dimensions of our life and character," described Green's murder of his first wife, Tanya, as a "mishap" and promised at one point that Green would rejoin his church and be given whatever help he needed to adjust.
It is unclear whether Faith had known Gregory prior to this or whether or not Tanya was also a member of Pastor Harris' church before Green killed her.
"Gregory and I were friends before his mishap and he was incarcerated," Harris wrote on Aug. 17, 2005. "I feel he has paid for his unfortunate lack of self control and the damage he has caused as much as possible and is sorry. This will not restore the lives that were taken; he will carry that with him for the rest of his life."
In another letter the following year Pastor Harris wrote: "I've noticed a great deal of growth and his understanding has matured quite a bit as well as his processing skills. If he was to be released, he would be welcomed as a part of our church community, and whatever we could do to help him adjust, we would."
Something, however, went awry with Green's adjustment. The Christian Post reached out to Pastor Harris through his ministry for comment Thursday but there was no response.
About a month before the murder of her children, Faith Green had reportedly filed for divorce after six years of marriage.
Three years earlier, the Detroit Free Press said she also filed a request for a personal protection order against her husband, claiming: "He's trying to make me leave our home. … We're filing for divorce. He's being beligerant (sic), kicking things. He kicked the couch while the baby was sleeping on it. Just kicking things threatening me and saying if I don't leave things are going to get ugly. Jumped at me like he was going to attack. This went on for hours."
Judge Deborah Ross Adams denied her request due to insufficient evidence.
Last Tuesday a staff member at The Detroit First Church of the Nazarene confirmed with CP that Faith and her children had attended the church in the past but could not confirm if her husband attended with them. "Yes, they did attend here. She and the kids, they did attend here," the staff person said.
While the staffer "did not know her personally," Faith and her children were known to attend church services and Sunday school at times.
"I do know the kids, when they were little, were in [children's programs,] but I do not know how many times they attended," the staffer added.
Green's prison records cited by The Detroit News, showed that he was repeatedly denied parole over the murder of his first wife because he showed little remorse and blamed his victim for his actions.
"(He) still can't explain his murderous rage. Oddly, he did not utter a word of empathy or remorse," officials wrote in a report dated Dec. 8, 2006. "Considering the brutality of the fatal crime, (Green) needs to enhance insight, empathy and remorse."
Two years later, however, Green's fortune changed and he was released.
"Reasonable assurance exists that the prisoner will not become a menace to society or to the public safety," parole board officials wrote in a report dated Feb. 8, 2008. The documents listed Green's projected release date as April 29, 2008.
