A former New York prison guard is found guilty of manslaughter in an
inmate’s fatal beating
[April 02, 2026]
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A former corrections officer was found
guilty of manslaughter Wednesday in the fatal beating of an inmate at
Mid-State Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
The jury in Utica, New York, also found Jonah Levi guilty of gang
assault and conspiracy in the death Messiah Nantwi on March 1, 2025, and
the subsequent coverup. The jurors acquitted him of second-degree
murder.
“This verdict sets an important precedent — not just for Messiah, but
for everyone who is incarcerated," Patterson Nantwi, Messiah Nantwi's
father, said in a written statement. "No one should have to fear losing
their life at the hands of those who are supposed to care for them.”
Levi was the first guard to go on trial in Nantwi's death.
“The first step in justice for Messiah is complete with some work to
go,” Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said in an
email. “I thank the hard working jurors for their diligence and am very
pleased with the verdict.”
A message was left seeking comment from Levi's attorney.
Nantwi, 22, was struck dozens of times by guards who used their fists,
boots and batons. He died due to massive head trauma and other injuries
to his body from the beatings, according to prosecutors.
The beating occurred during a wildcat strike by many officers that
forced the governor to send in National Guard members to help keep
order. Nantwi’s death also came several months after Robert Brooks was
fatally beaten at a separate prison just across the road from Mid-State.
Levi was part of an emergency response team called to Nantwi’s housing
unit to help National Guard members who sought backup after Nantwi was
uncooperative during a prisoner headcount. A witness testified that
Nantwi calmed down once backup was called.
Corrections officers who responded to the call began beating Nantwi in
his room after he refused to be handcuffed and grabbed a guard’s vest.
Prosecutors said the beatings intensified after Nantwi bit a guard’s
hand.
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The Mid-State Correctional Facility is seen on April 16, 2025, in
Marcy, N.Y. (AP Photo/Michael Hill, File)
Fitzpatrick told jurors that Levi stomped on Nantwi’s head multiple
times and participated in a cover-up by guards.
“The evidence of guilt here, ladies and gentlemen, is simple and
it’s overwhelming. Stomp on someone’s head, you’re not trying to get
their attention,” Fitzpatrick told jurors during closing arguments
Monday. “You’ve divorced yourself from the human race.”
Levi’s attorney, Lewis G. Spicer, told jurors that his client did
not use any force that resulted in Nantwi’s death.
“Jonah Levi did not kick Messiah Nantwi in the head,” Spicer said in
his closing statement.
More than half a dozen others have pleaded guilty to lesser charges
related to the beating and alleged cover-up.
Another former guard charged with murder, Caleb Blair, is scheduled
to go on trial May 4, along with a fellow defendant will stand trial
for first-degree manslaughter. Another guard charged with
manslaughter is scheduled for trial June 1.
Nantwi entered the state prison system in May 2024 and had been
serving a five-year sentence for second-degree criminal possession
of a weapon related to an exchange of gunfire with police officers
in 2021. He was shot multiple times, while the officers were
uninjured.
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