A former corrections officer has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the fatal beating of an inmate at an upstate New York prison last year, agreeing to serve 11 years behind bars.
Plea Entered Before Trial
Caleb Blair, initially facing the most serious charges including second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi, entered his plea in Oneida County Court in Utica just as jury selection was set to begin Monday. Nantwi died on March 1, 2025, at the Mid-State Correctional Facility near Utica from massive head trauma and other injuries.
Prosecutors detailed that Nantwi suffered 69 separate body blows from guards who used their fists, boots, and batons in a series of beatings. The incident began when Nantwi, who was serving a five-year sentence for exchanging gunfire with police officers, objected to being handcuffed while resisting a prisoner headcount, according to an indictment.
Prosecutor and Family Reaction
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who prosecuted the case, stated that Nantwi's family was satisfied with the plea deal. “I'm satisfied that justice was done,” Fitzpatrick told The Associated Press. “There has to be systemic changes in the facilities regarding relationships between corrections officers and incarcerated individuals, and I hope that people just don’t turn the page.”
Blair's lawyer, William Sullivan, said his client accepted responsibility for his actions. He described Blair as a model corrections officer with no disciplinary history and a background of overseas service in the National Guard. “It was a terrible combination of eight minutes, six minutes, in that cell that ruined an otherwise exemplary life,” Sullivan said. “If you had a daughter and Caleb Blair came home to ask for her hand, you’d be proud.”
Sentencing and Other Cases
Sentencing for Blair is scheduled for June 17. Lawyers for Nantwi's family emphasized the need for accountability. “Most of the defendants here are going to jail. And hopefully the impact of that will resonate throughout the state prisons, which for far too long have tolerated and turned a blind eye to violence against inmates,” attorneys Ed Ward and Katie Rosenfeld said in a statement.
The other former officer who Fitzpatrick said inflicted head blows to Nantwi, Jonah Levi, was found guilty of manslaughter and other crimes by a jury last month and awaits sentencing. A third former guard, Craig Klemick, pleaded guilty on Friday to offering a false instrument for filing, a crime commonly charged for lying in reports about an incident. Several other former guards have pleaded guilty, with only one case remaining to be tried.
In an initial indictment of 10 corrections officers last year, six were accused of assaulting Nantwi, while the other four were accused of participating in a cover-up that included filing false reports, plotting to plant a makeshift knife, and cleaning up blood in Nantwi’s room in an effort to destroy evidence.
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.
