2 Guards Charged With Murder in Beating Death of Prisoner in New York - The New York Times


Two New York corrections officers face murder charges, and eight others face related charges, in the death of an inmate who was allegedly beaten by guards.
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Two corrections officers were charged with second-degree murder and eight others with related offenses in the killing of a man who inmates said was savagely beaten to death by guards last month at a prison in central New York.

The man, 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi, died March 1 after he was beaten at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y., near Utica. Mr. Nantwi, other inmates said, was bloodied, swollen and unrecognizable after the beating.

An 11-count grand jury indictment was unsealed on Wednesday charging two officers, Jonah Levi and Caleb Blair, with Mr. Nantwi’s murder. They and three other officers were charged with manslaughter in the first degree and gang assault, and two more were charged with second-degree manslaughter. Eight of the officers were charged with trying to cover up the attack.

The charges were announced by William J. Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney, who was appointed special prosecutor in the case. The officers, who pleaded not guilty, are due back in court on May 23.

A family photo of Mr. Nantwi.

“As a result of the numerous beatings by defendants and their fellow correctional officers, incarcerated individual Messiah Nantwi died due to massive head trauma and numerous other injuries to his body,” the indictment said. The officers “demonstrated depraved indifference” to his life, according to the indictment.

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