Utica, New York — A New York prison guard who failed to intervene while he was being watched An inmate is beaten to death A prosecutor told jurors Thursday in the final trial of correctional officers whose beatings, recorded by body cameras, sparked outrage.
“For seven minutes — seven nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and did nothing,” special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick told the jury during closing arguments. The jury began deliberations Thursday afternoon.
Former corrections officer Michael Fisher, 55, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Robert Brooks, who was beaten by guards upon arriving at Marcy Correctional Facility on the night of Dec. 9, 2024, and whose agony was silently recorded on guard cameras.
Fisher’s attorney, Scott Eisman, said his client entered the infirmary after the beatings began and could not know the extent of his injuries.
Fisher was among 10 guards The accused in February. Three others agreed to plead guilty in exchange for reduced charges in exchange for cooperating with the Public Prosecution. Of the ten officers indicted in February, there were six plead guilty Manslaughter or lesser charges. Four plea deals were rejected, one was convicted of murder, and two were acquitted in the first trial last fall.
Fisher, standing alone, is the last of the guards to face the jury.
The trial concludes a chapter in a landmark case that led to some reforms in New York’s prisons. But advocates say prisons still suffer from understaffing and other problems, especially since a wildcat strike by guards last year.
Officials took action amid outrage over images of guards beating the 43-year-old black man in the prison infirmary. The officers were seen hitting Brooks in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck and dropping him.
Video shown to the jury during closing arguments Thursday indicates that Fisher stood in the doorway and did not intervene.
“Did Michael Fisher recklessly cause the death of Robert Brooks? Of course he did. Not himself. He had a lot of other helpers,” Onondaga County District Attorney Fitzpatrick said.
Eisman asked jurors who looked at the footage to consider what Fisher could have known at the time “without the benefit of 2020 hindsight.”
“Michael Fisher didn’t have a rewind button. He didn’t have the ability to enhance. He didn’t have the ability to pause. He didn’t have the ability to get a different perspective on what was happening in the room,” Iseman said.
Even before Brooks’ death, critics claimed the prison system had problems including brutality, overworked staff and inconsistent services. By the time the criminal indictments were unsealed in February, the regime was reeling An illegal three-week wildcat strike by prison officers Who were dissatisfied with working conditions. Governor Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard troops to continue operations. More than 2,000 guards were dismissed.
These included deaths in prisons during the strike Christ Nantoi on March 1 at Mid State Correctional Facility, which is located across the road from Marcy Prison. Ten other guards have been charged in Nantwi’s death in April, including two accused of murder.
There are still about 3,000 National Guard members serving the state’s prison system, according to state officials.
“The absence of staff in critical positions impacts literally every aspect of prison operations,” Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, an independent watchdog group, said on the eve of Fisher’s trial. “I think the prisoner experience is neglect.”
Hochul last month announced a broad reform deal with lawmakers that includes a requirement to install cameras in all facilities and immediately release video recordings related to deaths behind bars to state investigators.
The state also lowered the hiring age for correctional officers from 21 to 18.