One of the men convicted in the "Monfils 6" case has been granted parole due to his poor health and old age, according to Department of Corrections documents.
Dale Basten, 76, was found guilty of the 1992 murder of Tom Monfils along with five others. The "Monfils 6" were co-workers of Monfils at a paper mill in Green Bay. His body was found in a paper vat.
Basten will be released to an assisted living facility in the Fox River Valley, documents said.
The DOC Wisconsin Parole Commission said Basten's health had visibly worsened over the last few parole hearings, and that he seemed "unaware of [his] surroundings and [communicated] very little," DOC documents said.
The Parole Chairman observed that Basten had "little or no orientation as to [his] surroundings."
The Chairman also gave the following reasons for granting parole:
- Basten had "demonstrated satisfactory adjustment during confinement," receiving 10 minor and no major conduct reports.
- He did not refuse to do any assigned duties in prison.
- No prison programs would be able to help him at this point.
- Due to his health, the risk of harm to society is negligible.
- The Commission took into consideration victim input.
- Basten is parole eligible.
- His release from prison will not "depreciate the seriousness of [his] crime."
Basten has maintained his innocence while serving nearly 22 years in prison.
"It's difficult when somebody maintains their innocence to be paroled because usually a parole board wants someone to admit to a crime to show that they're remorseful before they're released," said NBC26 legal expert Avi Berk.
Berk has firsthand knowledge of the "Monfils 6" case and Dale Basten: he represented Basten during his trial in 1995.
"From the time I looked at the case, and through the trial, I felt that he was not involved and was wrongfully convicted," Berk said.
Earlier this summer, another man convicted in the case asked the Supreme Court to look at his case.
Keith Kutska filed a "petition for a writ of certiorari" in May. Kutska was asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal from a lower court.
Michael Piaskowski, another man convicted in the case, was released back in 2001 after a judge said there was not enough evidence against him.
The six men were convicted of killing Monfils after he told police one of the men was involved in a work-related theft.
Monfils was found dead in a paper vat with a rope and weight tied around his neck.
The "Monfils 6" were all convicted in 1995. Four men remain behind bars. One of them, Reynold Moore, is eligible for parole this year.
The other three are eligible next year.
