A Devastating Verdict Exposes Deep Rot in New York’s Jail System
By Dawn LaGuerre
After two grueling days of deliberations, an Oneida County jury delivered a cut up verdict Monday that left one household grieving and a group demanding solutions. Former New York corrections officer David Kingsley was discovered responsible of second-degree homicide and first-degree manslaughter within the brutal beating loss of life of Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old Black inmate. However in a choice that sparked instant outrage, two different guards—Mathew Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer—walked out of the courtroom as free males, acquitted of all prices regardless of being current in the course of the deadly assault captured on physique cameras.
The verdicts, delivered October 20, 2025, got here after a trial that laid naked the darkest corners of New York’s jail system—the place physique cameras by chance recorded what prosecutors known as a “gang” of guards beating a handcuffed man to loss of life whereas colleagues watched. For Robert Brooks’ household, the blended end result represents each a small measure of accountability and a bitter reminder that systemic change stays frustratingly out of attain.
The Night time That Modified Every little thing
December 9, 2024, began as simply one other switch day in New York’s sprawling jail system. Robert Brooks, who had been serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault since 2017, was moved from Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility—supposedly for his personal security after being attacked by different inmates.
What occurred subsequent would shock the conscience of a nation.
Based on Particular Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick, Brooks was attacked three separate times that night. The ultimate beating—captured on silent body-camera footage from a number of angles—befell within the jail infirmary. What the officers did not notice was that their Axon physique cameras, whereas not activated, have been passively recording video for half-hour with out audio.
The footage is devastating. Brooks, already handcuffed and compliant, seems on a gurney surrounded by corrections officers. Over the course of a number of minutes, he’s punched repeatedly within the face and groin, lifted by the neck, and stomped on whereas mendacity defenseless. Blood swimming pools round his head. His physique goes limp. And thru all of it, greater than a dozen workers members—together with two nurses who might be seen smirking—both take part or stand by watching.
“Robert died of huge beating to his physique, each externally and internally,” Fitzpatrick told reporters after the indictments. “A number of of his inner organs have been bruised, his hyoid bone was fractured, his thyroid cartilage was ripped. He additionally died on account of repeated restrictions to his airways, inflicting extreme mind harm. And eventually, he died by choking on his personal blood.”
What the Post-mortem Revealed
The health worker’s findings painted an image of unspeakable violence. Based on court documents and autopsy reports, Brooks suffered:
- A badly damaged nostril and fractured hyoid bone in his neck
- Intensive bruising to inner organs together with the spleen, liver, and groin
- Bleeding in his genitals and neck space
- Blood that leaked into his lungs and abdomen
- Extreme accidents from compression of the neck and a number of blunt-impact trauma
- A black eye and accidents in line with being kicked and punched repeatedly
The Onondaga County Medical Examiner dominated Brooks’ loss of life a murder, brought on by “compression of the neck and a number of blunt-impact accidents.” He was pronounced “clinically lifeless” round 9:40 PM—lower than 20 minutes after the beating started—and died early the following morning at Wynn Hospital in Utica.
Contained in the Courtroom: A Group Holds Its Breath
The trial of David Kingsley, Mathew Galliher, and Nicholas Kieffer started October 6, 2025, in Oneida County Courtroom, simply miles from the place Brooks was killed. Over six days, prosecutors offered testimony from 12 witnesses and dozens of reveals, together with the body-camera footage that Choose Robert Bauer warned was “stunning and disturbing.”
Kingsley, 36, Galliher, and Kieffer all confronted prices of second-degree homicide and first-degree manslaughter. Galliher and Kieffer additionally confronted prices of second-degree gang assault, whereas Kieffer confronted an extra depend of submitting a false instrument.
The protection technique was clear: reduce their shoppers’ particular person roles and shift blame to different guards. Protection attorneys argued their shoppers have been imperfect however not murderers—that they made split-second choices in troublesome circumstances and should not be judged for the violent acts of their colleagues.
However Fitzpatrick painted a unique image. “All of them acted collectively as a gang,” he informed jurors, “they usually all killed that man.” The homicide prices, he defined, accused the officers of appearing with “wicked indifference to human life.”
Throughout closing arguments, Fitzpatrick displayed a PowerPoint slide that learn merely: “Keep in mind, They Killed Him.”
A Cut up Determination That Left Everybody Reeling
After deliberating Wednesday afternoon by Friday, jurors returned Monday morning with a request: they needed to evaluate all video footage of Brooks within the infirmary yet one more time. Additionally they requested to listen to once more the authorized definitions of homicide and manslaughter—for the third time.
At roughly 10:15 AM, they reached their verdict:
• David Kingsley: GUILTY of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. He faces 25 years to life in prison at his December 16 sentencing.
• Mathew Galliher: NOT GUILTY of all charges, including second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and second-degree gang assault.
• Nicholas Kieffer: NOT GUILTY of all charges, including second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree gang assault, and filing a false instrument.
The courtroom erupted. Kieffer’s family gasped and cried as every “not responsible” verdict was learn. Kingsley sat stone-faced as his spouse sobbed within the entrance row. His bail was instantly revoked, and he was led away in handcuffs.
Outdoors the courthouse, Kieffer informed reporters: “I do wish to present my regret for the household. What occurred to them was not one thing {that a} household ought to undergo.”
The Others: Plea Offers and Cooperation
Kingsley, Galliher, and Kieffer have been simply three of ten corrections officers initially indicted in Brooks’ loss of life. Six others accepted plea deals earlier than trial, admitting their roles in trade for diminished sentences:
Christopher Walrath: Pleaded responsible to first-degree manslaughter. Sentenced to fifteen years. Admitted to utilizing a chokehold on Brooks and mendacity to investigators.
Nicholas Anzalone: Pleaded responsible to first-degree manslaughter. Promised 22 years. Had prior allegations of abuse in opposition to different inmates.
Anthony Farina: Pleaded responsible to first-degree manslaughter. Promised 22 years. Beforehand concerned in 2020 assault and disfigurement of one other inmate.
Michael Mashaw: Pleaded responsible to second-degree manslaughter. Promised 3-9 years. Cooperating witness.
David Walters: Pleaded responsible to second-degree manslaughter. Promised 2.3-7 years. Cooperating witness.
Robert Kessler: Pleaded responsible to second-degree assault. Promised 5-7 years. Testified at trial as prosecution witness.
Glenn Trombly additionally pleaded responsible to second-degree gang assault and faces not more than 4 years. Like Farina, Trombly had a documented historical past of violence: he was concerned within the 2020 assault of inmate William Alvarez and the 2015 assault of inmate Equarn White, who wanted a wheelchair whereas recovering.
A fourth guard, Michael Fisher, rejected a plea deal and is scheduled to face trial on second-degree manslaughter prices on January 12, 2026.
“They Have been Given a Move”: The Household Speaks Out
Robert Brooks’ household launched an announcement that captured their blended feelings: reduction that one officer can be held accountable, however anger that others walked free.
“As we speak, the jury made the appropriate resolution to find David Kingsley responsible of homicide,” the household mentioned. “Whereas it was exhausting to see Matthew Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer be given a go, it highlights the necessity for systemic change.”
The assertion continued with a devastating statement: “Mr. Galliher and Mr. Kieffer have been doing precisely what their jail supervisors anticipated them to do. The guards indicted on this case weren’t just a few dangerous apples; they have been a part of a rotten system, doing what state officers have allowed them to do.”
Robert Brooks Jr., who attended a lot of the trial however wasn’t current for the decision, has develop into a robust advocate for jail reform. In sufferer impression statements and conferences with lawmakers, he has channeled his grief into motion.
Talking at Christopher Walrath’s sentencing in August, Brooks Jr. addressed the officer straight: “In that video, I see you and your fellow officers treating him as if his life holds no worth in any respect, as should you’re entitled to brutalize him for sport.”
Brooks’ father, Robert Ricks, has been equally vocal. At a legislative hearing in Albany, he mentioned: “From the second I step on this constructing, I wish to cry. And I do not wish to cry as a result of my son is lifeless. I wish to cry as a result of there’s an eerie feeling within the African American group that is usually unstated that nothing’s going to vary.”
A Wave of Outrage and Calls for for Reform
The discharge of the body-camera footage on December 27, 2024, ignited nationwide outrage. Civil rights teams, previously incarcerated individuals, and advocacy organizations rallied exterior Governor Kathy Hochul’s workplace and flooded the state capitol demanding justice and reform.
A brand new coalition known as “Incarcerated People’s Lives Matter” organized Robert Brooks Advocacy Day on January 27, 2025, delivering an inventory of calls for to state legislators that included:
- Rapid closure of Marcy Correctional Facility
- Full prosecution of all officers concerned in Brooks’ loss of life
- Creation of an unbiased oversight physique to observe prisons
- Authority for the DOCCS Commissioner to self-discipline violent officers with out arbitration
- Expanded powers for the Correctional Affiliation of New York
- Physique cameras required on all corrections officers throughout all interactions with incarcerated individuals
- Notification for households when family members die in custody
- Well timed disclosure of video footage
- A complete research of deaths in correctional amenities
The group outrage intensified when it was revealed that not less than three officers concerned in Brooks’ beating—Nicholas Anzalone, Glenn Trombly, and Anthony Farina—had documented prior histories of violence in opposition to prisoners. Regardless of complaints and lawsuits, they remained employed and have been promoted.
And Then It Occurred Once more
Simply weeks after the corrections officers’ strike that adopted Brooks’ loss of life—and proper in the course of the turmoil—one other Black inmate was crushed to loss of life by guards at a facility straight throughout the road from Marcy.
On March 1, 2025, 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi was killed at Mid-State Correctional Facility. Based on a lawsuit filed by his household, Nantwi repeatedly pleaded with officers to cease, saying “I did not do nothing!” and “Cease! You are actually hurting me!”
The Onondaga County Medical Examiner decided that Nantwi died from traumatic mind accidents brought on by repeated violent blows to his head. Ten officers have been indicted in April, with two charged with homicide.
When Brooks Jr. heard about Nantwi’s loss of life, he was “livid.” His first thought was: “I pray that they obtained it on digital camera.”
The Push for Reform: Will Something Actually Change?
Within the wake of Brooks’ loss of life and the following strike, Governor Hochul and DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello introduced a sequence of reforms. However advocates say they do not go far sufficient.
Present reforms embrace:
- All officers should put on and activate physique cameras throughout interactions with incarcerated individuals
- Physique cameras are actually required in infirmaries (the place a number of beatings have occurred)
- Expanded Workplace of Particular Investigations embedded in each jail
- Nameless whistleblower tipline for workers to report colleague misconduct
- Expedited physique digital camera rollout with $18 million in extra funding
- Lowered minimal age for corrections officers from 21 to 18
- Aggressive recruitment marketing campaign to fill 4,500 guard positions
However legal professionals and advocates stay skeptical. “DOCCS’s inner investigations by the Workplace of Particular Investigations are opaque, sluggish, and default to weighing workers credibility over incarcerated voices, whatever the information,” mentioned Antony Gemmell of the Authorized Help Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Challenge.
The Robert Brooks Agenda for Justice
State Senator Julia Salazar launched the “Prison Safety is Public Safety: Robert Brooks Transparency and Accountability” laws package deal in January 2025. The three payments would:
- Grant the DOCCS Commissioner authority to self-discipline officers with out exterior arbitration
- Create an Workplace of the Correction Ombudsperson overseen by an unbiased Correctional Oversight Board
- Develop the Correctional Affiliation of New York’s oversight powers
On October 21, 2025—the day after the verdicts—Brooks Jr. deliberate to affix advocates in Albany to urge Governor Hochul to signal the omnibus jail reform invoice into legislation.
“My son’s homicide was documented, God made certain of that,” Robert Ricks informed reporters. “It was videotaped, it occurred and all we try to do is to stop it from taking place once more.”
A Name to Motion: What You Can Do
Robert Brooks’ loss of life uncovered a disaster that has been hiding in plain sight for many years. However publicity is not sufficient. We’d like motion—from lawmakers, from voters, from each one that believes that dignity does not finish at a jail gate.
Here is what you are able to do:
- Contact Governor Kathy Hochul and urge her to signal the omnibus jail reform invoice. Her workplace: (518) 474-8390
- Attain out to your state senator and assemblymember. Inform them you help the Robert Brooks Agenda for Justice.
- Observe the Finish Jail Violence Marketing campaign and Incarcerated Folks’s Lives Matter coalition.
- Attend native rallies and advocacy days in Albany.
- Assist organizations just like the Correctional Affiliation of New York, Authorized Help Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Challenge, and Alliance of Households for Justice.
- Share Robert Brooks’ story. Hold his title alive. Demand that the individuals we pay to protect others are held to the best requirements.
- Keep in mind: Jail security IS public security. What occurs behind partitions impacts us all.
Remembering Robert Brooks
Robert Brooks was greater than a statistic. He was a father, a son, a musician who accomplished his GED whereas incarcerated. He was taking horticulture and signal language courses. He had plans for when he obtained out—plans to assist younger individuals in his group keep away from the trail he’d taken.
“I noticed the chance for him to take a seat again, loosen up, take into consideration some issues, notice some issues,” his father mentioned. “Get prayed up, get centered, begin studying, begin specializing in the following section of his improvement. I noticed that occur, and I really feel just like the system denied him the chance to be all that he might be.”
Brooks was scheduled for launch in 2026. He virtually made it dwelling.
On December 9, 2024, he was transferred to what officers mentioned can be a safer facility. As an alternative, he was crushed to loss of life inside hours of arrival—not for being combative, not for threatening anybody, however merely as a “welcome to Marcy.”
One guard will spend many years in jail for his function in that welcome. Two others walked away free. And the system that allowed all of it to occur? It is nonetheless standing, nonetheless working, nonetheless placing individuals in danger.
The query Robert Ricks asks—the one that ought to hang-out all of us—is easy: “Will something change?”
For Robert Brooks, for Messiah Nantwi, for all of the unknown deaths, the reply have to be sure.
As a result of in a state that claims to worth justice, rehabilitation, and human dignity, there might be no extra Robert Brookses. No extra physique cameras “by chance” capturing murders. No extra officers with histories of violence maintaining their jobs. No extra households informed to just accept that their beloved one’s loss of life is simply a part of the system.
The time for change will not be tomorrow. It was yesterday. However at present must do.
Relaxation in energy, Robert Brooks. Your loss of life is not going to be in useless.
