Killing of Messiah Nantwi
| Killing of Messiah Nantwi | |
|---|---|
| Location | Mid-State Correctional Facility, Marcy, New York, U.S. |
| Date | March 1, 2025 |
Attack type | Fatal assault by prison guards |
| Weapons | Hands, fists (implied), makeshift knife (planted as evidence) |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victims | Messiah Nantwi |
| Perpetrators | 10 prison guards (6 accused of assault, 4 of cover-up) |
| Assailants | 6 prison guards |
| Motive | Unknown (under investigation) |
| Inquiry | Ongoing investigation |
| Accused | 15 prison guards |
| Charges | Murder (2), manslaughter (7 - 5 first-degree, 2 second-degree), gang assault (6), conspiracy (8), tampering with physical evidence (4), using a false instrument for filing a report (9) |
| Litigation | Ongoing legal proceedings |
On March 1, 2025, Messiah Nantwi, 22, was beaten by corrections officers who were part of an emergency response team at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York. He died at Wynn Hospital in Utica, New York later that day. Nantwi was being held in pre-trial detention on charges of shooting two men in Harlem in April 2023.[1][2][3]
Fifteen staff members were initially placed on leave: ten were directly employed by Mid-State, while the other five were employed by Marcy Correctional Facility and were working at Mid-State during the incident.[4][5] This killing occurred during the 2025 New York corrections officers' strike. As of October 2025[update] court proceedings against the officers are ongoing.
Charges
[edit]In March, the Attorney General of New York recused herself from the investigation, and a special prosecutor was appointed.[6]
On April 16, 2025, two guards connected to Nantwi's death were charged with murder.[7] Overall, 10 prison guards were criminally charged in connection with Nantwi's death.[8]
Two of the five Marcy officers were charged with manslaughter.[9] The two prison guards who were charged with second-degree murder were directly employed by Mid-State.[8][5] Five people would be charged with first degree manslaughter.[8] Two sergeants at Mid-State were each charged with second-degree manslaughter after being accused of doing nothing to stop the assaults while supervising the area where Nantawi was beat to death.[8] Of the 10 officers charged, six were accused of assaulting Nantwi, while the other four were only accused of making an effort to cover-up the incident by doing things such as filing false reports and participating in a plot which included planting a makeshift knife and cleaning up blood in Nantwi’s prison cell in an attempt to destroy evidence.[8] Six of them would also be indicted on gang assault.[9]
Eight of the officers would be indicted for conspiracy, four for tampering with physical evidence, and nine for using a false instrument for filing a report.[9] As of August 2025[update], one officer, Nicholas Vitale, has pled guilty to offering a false instrument for filing and two others, Joshua Bartlett and Nathan Palmer, pled guilty to hindering prosecution and falsifying business records. Four additional unindicted officers also accepted plea offers.[10][11]
On June 17, Mantwi's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers, the supervisor of the prison, and commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.[12]
See also
[edit]- Killing of Robert Brooks
- List of unarmed African Americans killed by law enforcement officers in the United States
References
[edit]- ^ Marcelo, Philip (2025-03-04). "15 prison staffers placed on leave after the death of a man incarcerated in New York". AP News. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ Marcelo, Philip; Sisak, Michael R. (2025-03-03). "State police launch probe into inmate death as prison system roiled by illegal guard strike". AP News. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ Ransom, Jan (2025-03-02). "N.Y. State Police Investigate Death of Another Inmate at Upstate Prison". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ Stack, Liam; Ransom, Jan (2025-03-05). "15 N.Y. Prison Workers Placed on Leave as Inmate's Death Is Investigated". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ a b "DOCCS Names Correctional Staff as 'Persons of Interest' in Mid-State Facility Death Investigation". WKTV. March 26, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ Ransom, Jan (2025-03-06). "New York Attorney General Recuses Herself From Inquiry Into Prison Death". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ Ransom, Jan (April 16, 2025). "2 Guards Charged With Murder in Beating Death of Prisoner in New York". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Hill, Michael; Collins, Dave (April 16, 2025). "NY prison guards beat an inmate to death then tried to cover it up, prosecutors say". Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Multiple COs Indicted in Death of Mid-State Inmate Messiah Nantwi: Court Video, Indictment Document and Statements". WKTV. April 17, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ Mills, Sean I. (2025-07-29). "FACT SHEET: Where every CO case stands in Marcy inmate deaths". Rome Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- ^ "Former New York prison guard pleads guilty in connection with inmate's beating death". AP News. 2025-05-30. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Lyons, Brendan J. (2025-06-17). "Federal lawsuit filed on behalf of man fatally beaten by prison officers". Times Union. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
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