ATLANTA -- On the eve of a critical court appearance, new information has surfaced about Michael Vick.

Federal investigators, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request by WSB-TV's Scott MacFarlane, have revealed Vick personally killed at least seven of his fighting dogs by hanging or drowning. They also revealed Vick failed police polygraph tests in which he denied killing animals. And the federal paperwork said Vick decided to start his dogfighting ring just days after being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001.

SLIDESHOW: Exclusive Look Inside Vick's Dogfighting House

This information could influence the punishment Vick receives tomorrow, when he enters a guilty plea to state dog killing charges in Sussex, Va. Vick was thought to have secured leniency by offering to a guilty plea but the new information puts his future in doubt yet again.

Michael Vick is back in Virginia to face state dogfighting charges in a court appearance this week.

Hopewell Regional Jail Superintendent Darnley Hodge said the former NFL star is being held in protective custody. Hodge said Vick is isolated from the rest of the jail's 1,200 inmates to avoid disruptions but is being treated like any other prisoner.

Hodge said Vick arrived Thursday from the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where he's serving a 23-month sentence for a federal dogfighting conspiracy.