15 placed on leave after New York prison inmate’s death, governor says

By Michelle Watson and Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

(CNN) — New York State Police say they’re investigating the Saturday death of an inmate who was housed at an upstate medium security prison – reports of which Gov. Kathy Hochul called “deeply troubling” on Monday.

Messiah Nantwi, a 22-year-old inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, died at a hospital, state police said Monday. Although authorities have not said what led to or caused the death, The New York Times reported that nine prisoners – seven of whom agreed to use their names – said in interviews the inmate had been brutally beaten by corrections officers at Mid-State.

Fifteen staff members have been placed on leave in connection with the death, Hochul said Tuesday. Eleven were placed on leave initially, according to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

“While the investigation into this incident is ongoing, early reports point to extremely disturbing conduct leading to Mr. Nantwi’s death and I am committed to accountability for all involved. The people of New York extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Nantwi’s family and loved ones,” Hochul said in a release Tuesday.

Nantwi’s death came nearly three months after state inmate Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old Black man, died after what authorities said was a December beating by correctional officers at a different prison in Marcy, less than a mile from Mid-State.

The governor, when asked Monday about reports of Nantwi’s death, said it was “very much under investigation.”

“Deeply troubling,” Hochul said during a news conference Monday morning in New York City. “The actual cause of death is not known, but it is my highest priority to get to the bottom of this and find out what happened.”

At a Monday night news conference, State Department of Corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III echoed the governor’s concern, describing Nantwi’s death as a “tragedy.”

“Upon immediately learning of the death of the individual, we made a referral to an independent investigation by the Attorney General’s office and the state police, as well as placed staff involved in the incident on administrative leave,” he said. “Due to that ongoing investigation, we have no further comments at this time.”

State police were told about Nantwi’s death on Saturday, the agency said in a release Monday.

“(Nantwi) was pronounced deceased at Wynn Hospital in Utica, (New York),” state police said. “The circumstances surrounding his death are part of an ongoing investigation by the New York State Police, with the assistance of the (New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s) office of special investigations.”

The state corrections department confirmed Saturday’s death in a statement obtained by CNN affiliate WKTV.

“An incarcerated individual was taken from Mid-State Correctional Facility to an outside hospital earlier today (Saturday) and declared dead a short time later,” the corrections department’s statement reads.

“Any death that appears to be from other than natural causes or a known medical condition” is investigated by multiple agencies, including the state attorney general’s office, New York State Police and the New York state corrections department, the statement reads.

A spokesperson with Attorney General Letitia James’ office said the “Office of Special Investigation is conducting a preliminary assessment of the matter.”

Nonprofit group calls for release of camera footage

Nantwi was serving a prison sentence of up to five years at Mid-State Correctional Facility for conviction of a criminal weapon possession charge, a class C felony, according to online incarceration records.

He also was facing murder charges in connection with the killings of two people in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood in April 2023, according to court records. He had pleaded not guilty to those charges and had a hearing scheduled for May, according to court records. CNN has reached out to Nantwi’s attorney in the 2023 case for comment.

The Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit law firm that represents low-income New Yorkers, issued a statement calling on the state’s corrections department to release all camera footage and information regarding the incident.

“The recent death of a 22-year-old at Mid-State Correctional Facility, who, according to reports, was brutally beaten by staff, is unconscionable, especially in the wake of the killing of Robert Brooks, who suffered a similar fate,” the group said.

“This tragedy underscores the inherent culture of staff violence that pervades New York’s prisons, and the urgent need for transparency, accountability, and reform,” the group said.

Stan Germán, executive director of the New York County Defender Services, called Nantwi the “latest victim” of the New York State’s Department of Corrections.

“Mr. Nantwi was a bright, 22-year-old man whose dysfunctional violent upbringing left him with significant mental health challenges, but also with an unbroken spirt,” Germán said. “True, he was incarcerated, but he was still entitled like all of us, to basic human dignity and safety. Instead he suffered a violent senseless death at the hands of state corrections officers operating within a toxic culture that our society mainly ignores.”

Nantwi’s death comes after six prison workers were indicted on murder charges in February in connection with the death of Brooks. Authorities said Brooks died in the early hours of December 10 after he was beaten by correctional officers while handcuffed at Marcy Correctional Facility.

Besides the six indicted on murder charges in Brooks’ death, three other prison workers were each charged with second-degree manslaughter, and another was charged with tampering with physical evidence.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Leah Thomeer and Gloria Pazmino contributed to this report.