Prison Officials Deny Violating Rights of Green Bay Inmate Killed By Cellmate
Lawsuit alleges state should have intervened because of cellmate's conduct.
Micah Laureano with his mother, Phyllis, who filed a lawsuit after Micah’s death | Photo courtesy Phyllis Laureno
Months after 19-year-old Micah Laureano was killed by his cellmate at Green Bay Correctional Institution, Laureano’s mother filed a lawsuit against officials in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
On Friday, Secretary Jared Hoy and the warden of GBCI, Christopher Stevens, denied violating any of Laureano’s rights and engaging in any unlawful actions.
They denied that the plaintiff, Phyllis Laureano, “is entitled to any of the relief that she seeks” and called for the complaint to be dismissed.
The lawsuit alleged that “defendants’ willful and deliberate indifference to Mr. Laureano’s safety resulted in him being murdered by his cellmate.” It alleged that “based on Defendants’ actions, Mr. Laureano suffered cruel and unusual punishment when Defendants failed to protect him from harm.”
The lawsuit alleged that “defendants failed to protect Mr. Laureano when they placed a particularly aggressive, violent, and discriminatory inmate with a history of severe physical assault and mental health issues” in a cell with him.
In June, Jackson Vogel was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for Laureano’s death.
Vogel reportedly said he attacked Laureano because he was Black and gay, according to a report the Examiner received from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the report, Vogel had been issued conduct reports dated March 5 and 6, 2024, for language in inmate complaints and interview requests.
The complaints reportedly contained “obscene, profane, abusive and threatening language” and swastika symbols. According to the report, Vogel wrote “‘you all need and deserve Death! Hail [sic] Hitler!’” and mentioned the Aryan Brotherhood and “‘White Power (WLM).’”
The Post-Crescent reported that in May 2024, a judge and a prosecutor in Manitowoc County received death threats in the mail from Vogel, containing violent language detailing torture and cannibalism.
In an article about Laureano’s death at GBCI in August, the Examiner reported that court records showed Vogel had been found guilty of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, and Laureano had been found guilty of taking and driving a vehicle without consent and as party to a crime for substantial battery intending bodily harm, robbery with use of force and first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
A telephone scheduling conference will take place at 9:20 a.m. on Sept. 11.
Prison officials deny violating rights of Green Bay prisoner killed by cellmate was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.
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