Two corrections officers, Jonah Levi and Caleb Blair, were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Messiah Nantwi, a 22-year-old inmate who died after a severe beating at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York. Eight other officers face charges ranging from manslaughter to attempting to cover up the attack.
Inmates reported that Mr. Nantwi was brutally beaten, leaving him bloodied and unrecognizable. The indictment alleges that the officers' actions demonstrated "depraved indifference" to his life, resulting in his death from massive head trauma and other injuries.
The charges were announced by Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick, who was appointed special prosecutor. The officers pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to return to court on May 23.
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.
“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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