A former New York prison guard has been found guilty of murder in the beating death of a handcuffed inmate, while two other ex-guards were acquitted. David Kingsley was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for the fatal assault on Robert Brooks at Marcy correctional facility in December 2023.
The attack, captured on body-worn camera footage, showed Kingsley putting his hands around Brooks's neck and lifting him up. Brooks, who was shackled and handcuffed, was punched and choked by officers in the prison infirmary. Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said the officers tried to deactivate their cameras but failed, and 'fate recorded those videos'.
Mathew Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer, the other two guards tried alongside Kingsley, were found not guilty. Ten guards were charged in Brooks's death; six have pleaded guilty, and another is due for trial in January. Defence attorneys argued poor supervision and training were to blame, with Kingsley's lawyer claiming he was 'following procedure'.
Kieffer expressed remorse to Brooks's family after his acquittal, saying 'what happened to them is not something that a family should go through'. Brooks's family welcomed Kingsley's conviction but criticised the acquittals, stating the guards were 'part of a rotten system' and calling for prison reform.
The family urged New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign legislation mandating fixed cameras in common areas of prisons. Jared Ricks, Brooks's brother, said the trial revealed that 'violence and cover-ups are normalized' in the state prison system.
