Six New York prison guards charged with murder in beating death of handcuffed man

Six prison workers in New York were indicted on murder charges Thursday in connection with the death of an inmate who was beaten while handcuffed.

Six prison workers in New York were indicted on murder charges Thursday in connection with the death of an inmate who was beaten while handcuffed. Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old Black man, died in the early hours of December 10 after he was beaten by multiple correctional officers at Marcy Correctional Facility, an all-male state prison about 50 miles east of Syracuse, New York. Brooks, who had been serving a 12-year sentence for assault, was transferred to Marcy that night from the nearby Mohawk Correctional Facility. His death and the body camera footage that emerged of the beating sparked a firestorm of criticism over the violence and brutality some inmates experience at the hands of corrections officers. “Several of his internal organs were bruised,” special prosecutor Bill Fitzpatrick said Thursday after the court hearing. “His hyoid bone was fractured. His thyroid cartilage was ripped. He also died as a result of repeated restriction to his airways, causing severe brain damage. And finally, he died by choking on his own blood.” The defendants were accused of acting with “depraved indifference to human life,” while others did nothing to stop the beatings or order immediate medical aid for Brooks, according to the grand jury indictment. Brooks was beaten three times while under restraint, according to the indictment, “with no legitimate law enforcement purpose.”