Prosecutors Say NY Prison Guard Beat An Inmate To Death & Tried To Cover It Up

Ten New York prison guards have been indicted in the brutal death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi, who was fatally beaten by officers at the Mid-State Correctional Facility on March 1. Two of the guards, Jonah Levi and Caleb Blair, face second-degree murder charges, while several others are charged with manslaughter, assault, conspiracy, and tampering with evidence. According to the indictment, Nantwi was first attacked in his cell and later in the facility’s infirmary, even while he was handcuffed and unresponsive.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick stated that the beatings began after National Guard members, temporarily assisting during a prison staff strike, flagged Nantwi for interfering during a medication distribution. Though the issue had already de-escalated by the time the emergency response team arrived, Fitzpatrick said the guards "spoke with the Guard members for only a few seconds before entering Nantwi’s room." Once inside, they began beating him after he resisted being handcuffed without explanation. Nantwi reportedly grabbed a guard’s vest and later bit two officers, but only after the assault had already begun.

The indictment details how officers used fists, batons, and boots, continuing the assault even after Nantwi was unresponsive. He was further beaten in a stairwell and a holding cell. “They dumped him in a holding cell at the infirmary and further assaulted him,” the report says. Bodycams, which could have documented the incident, were either not worn, turned off, or ignored.

After Nantwi’s death, the guards met at a local diner to construct a “false narrative,” which included planting a weapon in his room. Fitzpatrick described the attempted cover-up as “amateurish and ineffective.” One sergeant, David Ferrone, was caught on camera discussing the planted weapon and reacted with an expletive upon noticing the recording device.

All 10 officers charged have either resigned or been suspended. Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered that the involved employees be formally terminated. Nantwi, who had been incarcerated since May 2023 on a weapons conviction, was also facing charges for two killings in Harlem last year.

Link: AP News