Ten correctional officers in New York were charged Wednesday in connection with the fatal beating of 22-year-old inmate Messiah Nantwi last month. Two of the guards face murder charges. This marks the second time in 2025 that a group of New York correctional officers has been indicted over a death behind bars.
According to the indictment, several guards severely beat Messiah Nantwi, an inmate at the Mid-State Correctional Facility, leading to his hospitalization and death on March 1. Nantwi succumbed to “massive head trauma and numerous other injuries,” the indictment states.
This tragic incident follows the death of Robert Brooks, who was fatally beaten at the Marcy Correctional Facility, located just across the street from Mid-State. Six guards involved in Brooks’ death have pleaded not guilty to murder charges, and additional prison staff members have also been charged.
The Mid-State facility was already under strain during a three-week wildcat strike by guards. Correctional officers unhappy with working conditions illegally walked off the job starting February 17, prompting the governor to send in National Guard troops to keep the prisons operating. Incarcerated individuals and their advocates reported deteriorating conditions during the strike.
According to the indictment, the two guards charged with second-degree murder, Jonah Levi and Caleb Blair, were called to Nantwi’s room to assist National Guard members with an “unknown issue.” Once inside, they began beating Nantwi, striking him multiple times with their boots. The document states that Nantwi had his hands raised and showed no weapon when the guards entered.
The indictment details that Nantwi, confused and protesting being handcuffed without cause, grabbed one of the guards’ vests. In response, the assault intensified, particularly after Nantwi allegedly bit Blair and another guard, Thomas Eck, on their hands.
Nantwi became unresponsive and was moved out of the room to the infirmary. However, he was beaten again in a stairwell and later “dumped in a holding cell at the infirmary” where Blair assaulted him once more.
Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the violence, calling it a “horrific crime” during a video statement. “The tragic death of Mr. Nantwi at the hands of correction officers who are responsible for protecting the incarcerated population is deeply, deeply disturbing,” she said.
The court document highlighted that the guards had no legitimate reason to assault Nantwi. It also stated that the guards’ actions—kicking, stomping, and neglecting to get medical help for Nantwi—demonstrated “depraved indifference” to his life, ultimately causing his death.
Levi, Blair, and three other guards were also charged with first-degree manslaughter.
The attorney general’s office recused itself from Nantwi’s case due to its involvement in representing several correctional officers in civil lawsuits. Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County District Attorney, was appointed to oversee the case. Fitzpatrick is also prosecuting the case involving Brooks’ death.
Nantwi had been in the state prison system since May 2024, serving a five-year sentence for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. This charge stemmed from an exchange of gunfire with police officers in 2021, during which Nantwi was shot multiple times, while the officers were unharmed.
Manhattan prosecutors also accuse Nantwi of shooting and killing Jaylen Duncan, 19, in Harlem in April 2023, followed by the killing of Brandon Brunson, 36, at a Harlem smoke shop the next evening after an argument.
