One of several corrections officers charged in connection with the fatal beating of an inmate at a New York state prison last year pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday and agreed to serve 11 years in prison.
Former Ranger Caleb Blair initially faced the most serious charges against the officers, including second-degree murder, in the death of the 22-year-old. Christ Nantoi At a midstate correctional facility near Utica on March 1, 2025. Nantoy died of blunt force trauma to the head and other injuries, and Blair was one of two guards who prosecutors said inflicted head injuries.
Prosecutors said Nantui was subjected to 69 separate physical blows from guards who used their fists, boots and batons in a series of beatings. The indictment said Nantwi, who was serving a five-year prison sentence for exchanging gunfire with police officers, objected to guards being handcuffed while resisting a prisoner count before the beating.
Blair pleaded guilty in Oneida County District Court in Utica before jury selection began Monday for the trial. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who prosecuted the case, said Nantois’ family agreed to the plea deal.
“I am convinced that justice will be done,” Fitzpatrick told The Associated Press in a phone interview after the hearing. “There needs to be systemic changes in facilities regarding the relationships between (correctional officers) and incarcerated individuals, and I hope people don’t turn the page.”
Blair’s lawyer, William Sullivan, said his client accepted responsibility for his actions. He said Blair was a model correctional officer who had no history of discipline and had served overseas in the National Guard.
“It was a terrible combination of eight minutes and six minutes in that cell, ruining a perfect life,” Sullivan said. “If you had a daughter and Caleb Blair came home to propose to her, you would be proud.”
A date for sentencing has been set for June 17
Nantwi’s family lawyers said his relatives primarily want accountability for his death.
“Most of the defendants here will go to prison,” attorneys Ed Ward and Katie Rosenfeld said in a statement. “We hope this will reverberate throughout the state’s prisons, which have long tolerated and turned a blind eye to violence against prisoners.”
The other former officer who Fitzpatrick said delivered head blows to Nantui, Jonah Levy — who has denied the allegation — was found guilty by a jury last month of manslaughter and other crimes and is awaiting sentencing.
A third former guard, Craig Klimek, pleaded guilty Friday to submitting a false document for registration, a crime typically charged with lying in reports about an incident. Several other former guards have pleaded guilty, and only one case is still awaiting trial.
In the initial indictment Of 10 correctional officers last year, six were charged with assaulting Nantui, while the other four were accused of participating in a cover-up that included filing false reports, planning to plant a makeshift knife and cleaning up blood in Nantui’s room in an attempt to destroy evidence.
The beating occurred during a random strike by several officers, forcing the governor to send members of the National Guard to help maintain order. Nantui’s death also came several months later Robert Brooks was fatally beaten In a separate prison across the road from Midstate.