Man accused of hate crime homicide at Green Bay prison formally withdraws insanity plea
A man going to trial in June for the homicide of his cellmate at Green Bay Correctional Institution has withdrawn his insanity plea.
Jackson Vogel, 25, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide as a hate crime for the August 2024 death of 19-year-old Micah Laureano. The trial is scheduled for June 2-5.
Vogel is accused of strangling Laureano in their shared cell on the night of Aug. 27, 2024. According to court records, Vogel admitted to guards that he killed Laureano because he was "bored," and Micah 'checked all the boxes,' including the teen's race and perceived sexual orientation, which he referred to with slurs.
Records indicate that Vogel, who is White, had a history of making death threats and white supremacist declarations before he was placed in a cell with Laureano, who was Black and Hispanic.
At his arraignment in October 2024, Vogel pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, commonly referred to as an insanity plea.
At a status conference in March, attorneys discussed issues with securing an expert to testify about Vogel's insanity defense. In April, Vogel's attorney, Ann Larson, filed a letter stating that Vogel wished to withdraw that plea and "proceed to jury trial with a not guilty plea."
Vogel's plea was not formally changed until Brown County Circuit Court Judge Donald Zuidmulder approved the new plea at Vogel's final pre-trial conference May 21.
The change means Vogel's trial will only consist of one phase, rather than possible second phase to determine his criminal responsibility. It also means that if he is convicted, Vogel will face life in prison, rather than the possibility of life in a mental health facility.
Vogel is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for attempted homicide in Manitowoc County. According to court records, he repeatedly stabbed his mother in 2016, when he was 16 years old, at their home in Two Rivers.
Laureano was serving a three-year sentence for assault and vehicle theft.
While the Brown County Sheriff's Office initially stated the two had been cellmates for just hours before Laureano's death Aug. 27, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections in May told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that Vogel and Laureano had been cellmates for five days, since Aug. 22.
RELATED: Micah Laureano feared for his safety at Green Bay Correctional Institution. Then, he was killed.
In a separate criminal case, Vogel is charged in Racine County with one count of threat to a family member of an officer of the court, and one count of threat to a prosecutor. According to a criminal complaint, Vogel, while incarcerated at Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility in spring 2024, mailed death threats to the Manitowoc County judge and prosecutor who oversaw his 2016 case. He has a status conference scheduled for that case after his homicide trial, on June 23.
Laureano's mother, Phyllis Laureano, filed a federal lawsuit in February against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and prison officials, alleging they violated her son's constitutional rights by allowing him to suffer cruel and unusual punishment.
Laureano's death was the second homicide at Green Bay Correctional Institution in less than two years — and the second resulting in a hate crime charge.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Man accused of hate crime killing at Green Bay prison withdraws insanity plea
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