NY Corrections Officers Charged with Murder in Prison Death of Messiah Nantwi

Two New York state corrections officers were charged Wednesday with the murder of Messiah Nantwi, an incarcerated man who authorities say guards beat to death during the recent unauthorized prison strike.

A grand jury handed up an 11-count indictment charging 10 corrections officers in connection with Nantwi’s death. Two officers were accused of second-degree murder, while others were charged with manslaughter, gang assault, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.

Nantwi, 22, died on March 1 at the Midstate Correctional Facility near Utica. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick was named special prosecutor and brought the indictment that was unsealed Wednesday.

The second-degree murder charge accuses two officers of “kicking him and stomping on his head for no legitimate law enforcement purpose, and for further assaulting him and injuring him on the stairs exiting his building.” The prosecutors allege that the guards showed no urgency in getting medical help for Nantwi and “demonstrated depraved indifference” to his life.

Defendants Jonah Levi and Caleb Blair pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. Other defendants are being arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Oneida County.

Nantwi was one of at least seven incarcerated people who died during the three-week wildcat strike, which placed facilities around the state on lockdown and prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to send the National Guard into prisons.

The walkout started on Feb. 17, days before 10 other prison employees were charged in connection with the Dec. 10 beating death of Robert Brooks, a prisoner at the Marcy Correctional Facility. Graphic video of Brooks’ death spurred additional calls to increase oversight of the prison system.

Advocates for incarcerated people said corrections officers were using the walkout to shift attention away from Brooks’ death. Striking officers said they didn’t feel safe working in prisons and pushed for the repeal of the 2021 HALT law, which limits the use of solitary confinement.

The Hochul administration partly suspended HALT in an attempt to get officers to return to work. When the strike officially ended last month, the state agreed to convene a commission to re-examine the law.

Story by By Jimmy Vielkind/New York Public News Network

Image: Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County. (Credit: Paul Grondahl / Times Union)