JEFFERSON COUNTY, Wis. — Michael Maldonado, 46, is set to appear in court for an evidentiary hearing Friday. Maldonado was convicted at age 15 in a 1994 murder-for-hire scheme and is serving a life sentence for first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Ruben Borchardt.

"Mister Maldonado is saying that when the judge sentenced him, the judge at the time, Judge Irwin, sentenced him harshly because she viewed him as the person who pulled the trigger and killed the victim," says Chris Wan Wagner, a Dane County attorney and expert in criminal defense. Van Wagner is not a part of Maldonado's case.

A March 2025 decision from the District 4 Court of Appeals revealed details of the case involving Diane Borchardt, a teacher's aide. She allegedly promised her student, Douglas Vest, her enga

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