Tag Archives: Oregon WI

Defined Distinctions…

We had traveled on this road before. Its familiar contrast of green fields flanking either side of a winding road led to a rather bland, unattractive building. Crops in their prime of life, malleable to the warm summer breeze, defied this drab stone façade held captive by steely gates.

“The fields are so alive and plush but then all you see is bare concrete,” I said to my husband, Mike, with grave disappointment.

In 1941 this building in Oregon, Wisconsin, which is approximately 10 miles due south of Madison, became the second location of a reform school for delinquent and orphaned girls. It was established in 1876 but its current function is a minimum security prison; Oakhill Correctional Institution. This place now houses two of our five innocent men; Michael Johnson and Michael Hirn. We had visited Michael Hirn at this location in 2015 and on Sunday, June 26, 2016 we were about to meet Michael Johnson who had been transferred here only recently.

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Oakhill Correctional Institution

Personals secured in locker…check. Sport bra…check. Sleeved shirt…check. Long pants without belt…check. Ziploc bag of quarters…check. We felt like pros on this fifth visit in our quest to meet the five men still in prison for the death of paper mill worker, Tom Monfils.

We recognized Michael as he entered the visitor’s lounge. We waved. He was all smiles as he approached us after completing his check-in. “Bless you my sister,” he said as we shook hands.

Many prisoners find God during their incarceration. Michael already had, long before this ordeal started. And he continues to be a steadfast Christian in spite of it. Reading the Bible daily helps him to cope, to forgive, and to find peace. It helps him to isolate a different existence that truly defines him from the one that was chosen for him.

“Did Joan tell you about my vision?” Michael asked. “Yes she did,” I said. Michael was referring to his stepdaughter, Joan Van Houten and this vision he had shared with her years ago after his murder conviction:

“I spent approximately eight months in Brown County Jail. While I was in county jail waiting for the jury to return their verdict, is when the Lord gave me this vision. This is a very stressful time in my life, having been stripped of everything that was dear to my life. I believe the Lord was comforting me with this vision. The vision was in a time in the future and I did not yet understand it. I believed at the time it was of the Rapture. It was ten years before I correctly understood the vision. It began with me walking amid rubble, as I looked down I wondered why I wasn’t being cut or hurt by what I was walking on. The presence that was with me said: “It is because I am guiding your feet.” I then looked up and it was a summer day, the grass was green and the sky was blue with puffy white clouds. Before me was a blacktop road with a woman running on it up to a Control Tower screaming and waiving her arms in the air. Then I looked up and the clouds were rolled away and Jesus was looking down at me and was smiling. This vision was of the institution I am currently incarcerated in (Stanley Correctional Institution), yet this institution had not yet been built at the time I had this vision. I believe this woman was running to the authorities with some kind of information, the truth about the Thomas Monfils murder. I was reminded that a woman holds the Scales of Justice in front of the courthouse.”

Thinking of Joan brought tears, causing Michael to reclaim his composure. I shared my thoughts of when Joan had told me about this vision in 2010. “Joan said that both of you thought the woman was her at first, but then changed your minds after I became involved in 2009,” I said. I fell silent, thinking about how that conversation with Joan had defined my duties as an advocate and how I had participated in passing along a single torch in an effort to find legal assistance for all five of the men wrongfully convicted.

The conversation turned to a recent podcast interview in which Joan described evidence that should have been used at trial to prove Michael’s innocence. She said that during the investigation Michael had been approached by a local reporter who asked him if he knew Tom Monfils. Michael told him that he did and that Monfils was a nice guy who brought homemade popcorn into work to share with everyone. He stated that at work, Tom Monfils was known as the popcorn man. It was later determined that Michael was incorrect and that the popcorn man was actually someone else. Despite these documented facts, the video of that conversation with the reporter was never disclosed during the trial.

Michael spoke of his family with longing. The unfairness, the consequences of being absent from their lives, but knowing that he will return home one day, are truths each of the five men share; thoughts all of them desperately cling to.

Mike went to purchase drinks for all of us while Michael headed toward the restroom. After both returned Michael looked down at the palm of his hand and chuckled. He then turned his palm outward. “I wrote some things down that I wanted to cover and I smeared them when I washed my hands,” he said. But as we conversed, topics we covered triggered his memory, allowing him to recall most of what he had written down. I reassured him that the law firm representing Keith Kutska has turned this case on its side to learn everything there is to know about what happened. “They are very capable,” I said.  “And they will continue on with this fight for as long as they are needed.”

Michael Johnson’s modest life will always be guided by the Bible’s written word. He practices kindness in an often unkind world, is thoughtful in an often thoughtless world, and patient in an often impatient world. He dismisses judgement in an often judgmental world and chooses to search deep within for the wisdom to envision a world of peace and harmony for all. As with each of these men, it’s extremely sad that they were cast aside as “union thugs” and “murders” and unjustly robbed of their deserved freedom for so long.

Joan and Mike Treppa w Michael Johnson at Oakhill Correctional, 6-26-16

Joan and Mike Treppa with Michael Johnson

Meeting Expectations…

Michael Hirn. Photo courtesy of WBAY Ch. 2 Green Bay, Wisconsin

It’s disgusting to still hear the harsh portrayal of six paper mill workers from Green Bay, Wisconsin, convicted of an alleged “murder plot” in 1995. The murder theory was never really proven, at least not to the satisfaction of anyone other than those motivated to turn a tragic suicide into a murder. To this day, when this case comes up in certain circles or in the news, these men are characterized as “union thug conspirators” and “murderers” and the whole alleged “bubbler” incident gets rehashed all over again.

When monitoring social media news sites whenever a story is published about this case, I’m amazed at the lack of knowledge and/or misinformation still out there. Despite a more recent investigation and repeated coverage during the 2015 hearing for Keith Kutska, people are relatively still in the dark about what most likely happened. I believe the ignorance persists for two reasons. 1. “Guilters” are only that and are seldom interested in becoming educated. 2. Because coverage rarely includes the “new” and more recent information made public during the hearing that clearly leans toward suicide. It’s like the news outlets are afraid or unwilling to tell that side of the story. I get why that is. It’s because they dare not offend the DA’s office or the Police Dept; two entities the media heavily relies on for critical information for future stories. Simply put, they need to keep those crucial lines of communication open…and cooperative. This sad fact is true, especially within smaller communities like Green Bay.

Having befriended these men over the years and meeting them all face to face more than once, my impressions of them are vastly different from that of the general public. And in my ongoing mission to tell their side of this very tragic story, it is my pleasure to introduce my readers to them on occasion. I feel it is important to give the men a face, a voice from behind bars, and a chance to gain additional support from those who might not otherwise know anything about them other than what they’ve read or seen in news clips. Doing so at this time is especially important. The very real reality that at least some of these men are now being granted parole, is upon us.

I told you earlier that Dale Basten was given “compassionate release” in 2017 due to his failing health and the high cost of his medical care. Unfortunately, nearly nine months later, Dale passed away. And now we just learned in December of 2018 that Michael Hirn has been granted parole. I’m excited to announce he will be released the week before Christmas!

I blogged about the incredible visit my husband, Mike, and I had in February of 2015 with Keith Kutska. You may recall that Keith was the alleged ring leader of the “angry mob” that supposedly gathered on November 21, 1992 to beat up Tom Monfils.

On Saturday, April 18, 2015 we drove to Oregon, WI which is just South of Madison, to the Oak Hill Correctional Institution*. This time we were visiting Michael Hirn; the youngest of the six men. My husband took this video prior to our entrance onto the prison grounds.

Main entrance at Oak Hill Correctional, Oregon, Wisconsin 

To add a little background that separates Michael from the others, back when this case was being investigated, aside from readily taking and passing four polygraph tests (which all of the men took and passed), Michael pushed to have the FBI involved in the investigation. The FBI did arrive on the scene but left soon afterward. I have no insight as to why that is. But like all of the others, Michael found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time the day Tom Monfils went missing. And there still are too many unanswered questions regarding this case.

For this visit we were under special visit status due to Michael’s full visitation list. We had completed the requirements for a one-time visit only. We approached the front desk and presented our ID’s. However, the guard could not find the form we had filled out in the appropriate blue folder. He was apologetic as he searched for the information that would confirm our visit. And he was kind enough to also acknowledge our long drive. He made a call to another guard who finally found the missing form in another location and, after a sigh of relief, sent us on our way to the visiting room.

We were directed to table #30 on the far side of the room. Many tables near us were occupied. Similar to our visit with Keith, the atmosphere was relaxed…and normal. We waited a few moments before Michael appeared. I waved to signal our presence. We exchanged smiles while he checked in. This experience was oddly familiar given it was only our second visit to a prison.

As Michael approached he shook hands with my husband. They hugged. Then it was my turn to receive a hug. We were delighted to finally meet him. We had been scheduled for a visit a month earlier but when the form was being processed, Michael was unexpectedly transferred from Fox Lake Correctional to Oak Hill, a medium security prison. The paperwork had gotten lost but thanks to Ms. Miller, Michael’s Social Worker at Fox Lake, the process was expedited.

Michael, like Keith, is kind, thoughtful, courteous, and talkative. We knew from his many letters that he is outspoken about our judicial system and very intent on working to correct its many flaws as soon as he is able. We had told him then that we will be there to support him when that time comes. And so his new life will soon begin…definitely with our support and the support of many others.

While in the throws of discussing the new developments in the case and the encouragement of renewed possibilities during the visit, Michael’s smile appeared time and again. It was a blessing to him…and to us. We three were becoming comfortable in each other’s presence when, forty minutes into our visit, a guard walked over to our table.

“Is it okay if two other visitors join you?” he asked.

Michael’s Aunt Marlene and Uncle Terry had arrived at the front desk. Michael was pleasantly surprised and we, of course, were eager to meet more of the clan. Aunt Marlene and Uncle Terry were anyone’s Aunt and Uncle; full of smiles and excitement as they sauntered in. Mike and I immediately felt at home with them. We hugged and we laughed. Mike and I learned that they had visited often over the years. Michael’s dry sense of humor surfaced when he introduced me as the “instigator” in the recent legal activities. Marlene, now sitting next to me, thanked me and offered another hug as tears fell. She then looked directly at Michael,

“I don’t know how you maintain such a positive attitude under such circumstances,” she said.

Michael told her “It is because of the support from so many that keeps me strong.”

My heart wept for Marlene and Terry’s pain over the course of so many years. It was obvious they relied heavily on each other for support. I felt grateful for their collective strength. They didn’t dwell on anger but a concern for Michael’s welfare. Their genuine love for him radiated.

The three-hour visit progressed rapidly. I wanted to have pictures taken so, the appropriate form was filled out. We were soon called over to the picture taking station by an inmate who’d be taking them. Unlike the experience during our visit with Keith, I was successful in getting both Mike’s to smile!

Marlene and Terry opted out of the pictures. “We are waiting for the day when Michael is released,” they said.

We then purchased and devoured ice cream bars. How good it felt at that moment to be a part of this mission…and these lives.

In the lobby following our visit, we spent time speaking with Marlene and Terry. We exchanged contact information. We felt honored by their expression of gratitude toward what we were doing for Michael. They thanked us for taking the time to visit their beloved nephew. The story of Marlene and Terry is the story of thousands who have lost precious years with loved ones due to a wrongful conviction. The resounding constant is the level of resilience and courage that so many of them possess.

Just before this visit, I had done as I always do, sent my most recent blog piece to all of the men which described our visit with Keith. In Michael’s letter he referenced our upcoming visit and mentioned that Keith had set the bar pretty high. He admitted he was feeling the pressure to make sure we had an even better visit. Honestly, Michael had nothing to worry about. This visit vastly outweighed any expectations we may have had for that day. We’ve again been blessed with insight into the integrity of another courageous soul…and his family.

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Mike and Joan Treppa with Michael Hirn. (Photo courtesy of Oak Hill Correctional Institution)       

*Michael was moved to and will be released from McNaughton Correctional Center in Tomahawk, Wisconsin.