Jackson Vogel leaves a Brown County courtroom June 27, 2025 after being sentenced for the hate crime homicide of his cellmate at Green Bay Correctional Institution, Micah Laureano. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Jackson Vogel was sentenced Friday to life in prison with no chance of parole for the hate crime murder of his Green Bay Correctional Institution cellmate.
A jury previously convicted Vogel, 25, of first-degree intentional homicide as a hate crime. Vogel admitted killing Micah Laureano last Aug. 27 at the prison. Vogel told investigators he choked Laureano over his race and sexual preference.
Judge Donald Zuidmulder had the option to make Vogel eligible to ask for extended supervision at some point, but declined to do so. Vogel was also ordered to pay $20,039 in restitution.
Laureano’s mother, Phyllis, described the impact of the loss of her son, and his big smile.
“There are no words strong enough to express the pain of losing Micah, who was murdered on Aug. 27, 2024. On the day he was murdered, my life and lives of everybody who loved him changed forever,” she said. “The pain of losing Micah is something I carry every moment of every day. It is a pain that has no end. There’s an emptiness in my soul that can never be filled. Everyday is a reminder of his absence that shouldn’t be.”
Before the sentence was issued, Vogel apologized, but said he doesn’t hold on to the past.
“That doesn’t mean that I’m not sorry for what I have done. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have a sliver of regret, because I’m not showing remorse, because I don’t have emotion. That’s not something I can understand. I can’t rack my brain to understand it, but I am still sorry for what I have done,” Vogel said.
Vogel is already serving a 20-year sentence for trying to kill his mother in Two Rivers when he was 16.
Laureano had 18 months left on a three-year sentence for crimes in Waukesha and Columbia counties that include robbery use of force, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and substantial battery. His mother said Micah wrote her a letter expressing concerns for his safety at the prison. The letter arrived after he died.
In a separate legal action, Phyllis Laureano filed a federal civil rights lawsuit which named GBCI Warden Christopher Stevens and Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy as defendants. No hearings have been scheduled in that case.
Comments