GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – One of the men convicted in a killing that took place at a Green Bay paper mill in 1992 has been granted parole.
54-year-old Michael Hirn was convicted in 1995, along with five other men, for killing Tom Monfils and sentenced to life in prison.
According to state records Hirn will be released no later than December 18 from McNaughton Correctional Center, a minimum security facility in Lake Tomahawk.
Among the five other men convicted alongside Hirn, including Michael Johnson, Rey Moore, Dale Basten, Michael Piaskowski and Keith Kutska, three remain in prison.
Piaskowski’s conviction was overturned by a judge and Basten died in June, after being paroled due to failing health.
Outagamie County Judge James Bayorgeon, who presided over the joint trial, supported the release as early as 2010, according to the parole documents obtained by Fox 11 News.
“I believe Mr. Hirn should be paroled at the earliest possible date. While his involvement was extremely bad judgment, I feel the time he has served is sufficient punishment and that further incarceration is not necessary. He has paid his debt, he should be paroled,” Bayorgeon wrote.
According to the report, Hirn is close to obtaining an associate’s degree, has been doing “very well” at work release, and has been approved to live with his step-father.
Hirn has been described as the “least culpable” in Monfils’ death according to the decision.
Kutska was reported to police by Monfils for stealing an extension cord from the then-James River paper mill on the east side.
The six confronted Monfils and dumped his body into a pulp vat, according to prosecutors. All have denied any role in the murder.
