The split verdict in the murder case of Robert Brooks, the former New York prison inmate who was seen beaten to death by prison guards,has many people, including his family questioning why, CBS News reported.
Former New York State Department of Corrections officer David Kingsley was found guilty of murder and manslaughter, while Matthew Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer were acquitted in the case. Facing 25 years to life in prison, Kingsley’s sentencing will take place Dec. 15.
Thomas Gant, a community organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives, a nonprofit that supports those affected by mass incarceration in the Empire State, says the Oct. 20 verdict should not be defined as justice for Brooks.
“There is no justice in this verdict and no justice in this trial. Robert Brooks was murdered not just at the hands of these prison guards, but by a system of human caging that tears apart families and values brutal perpetual punishment over healing and transformation,” Gant said.
“We must honor Robert Brooks by dismantling the conditions that made his killing possible and creating fair pathways home for incarcerated people who have transformed while inside.”
Caught on police body-cameras, footage from the December 2024 incident shows Brooks being beaten while handcuffed while being transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility, and he was pronounced dead one hour after his arrival. The event triggered nationwide outrage about what happens to inmates inside prison walls at the hands of correctional officers.
NEW: Body-cam footage released showing New York correctional officers "fatally beat" a man in handcuffs. Incident happened during a transfer after Brooks was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2017 for first-degree assault.
— Oliya Scootercaster
43-year-old Robert Brooks died on December 10th at… pic.twitter.com/mu9QTKukIx(@ScooterCasterNY) December 27, 2024
The victim was scheduled to be released in 2026 after serving a 12-year sentence as a result of an assault conviction.
Brooks’ father, Robert Ricks, spoke out after the verdict, saying he thinks the judge got it wrong in letting two of the officers off “scot free.”
“When I look at that video, when I glance at that video, because I can’t look at it, what I see is pure evil,” Ricks said, according to 13 WHAM.
“I think they got it really, really wrong when they let the other two off scot-free. It says, as a prison guard, I can watch or know somebody is being beaten to death, and I have no responsibility. That’s not a good message.”
Ricks says the verdict, which he did not expect to take place so soon, left him feeling “hurt” and “disappointed.” Brooks’ son, Robert Brooks Jr., shared the same feelings as his grandfather, making a plea on the steps of the Capitol building in Albany, pressuring Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Omnibus Prison Reform Bill into law.
“I’ve been feeling heartbroken. I feel disappointed,” Brooks Jr. said.
“I feel as if the people that were acquitted were doing what their supervisors told them to do, and so I can’t be totally mad at them, but I’m more mad at the system that allowed that to go on.”
Under pressure to sign the bill, Hochul released a statement also expressing feelings of disappointment as “the safety of all New Yorkers — including the staff and incarcerated individuals in our prisons — is a top priority.”
“While I am disappointed by the acquittals, I respect the jury’s decision,” Hochul said in a statement.
“What happened to Mr. Brooks is unconscionable, and these verdicts serve as another sobering reminder of the needless losses of Mr. Brooks and Messiah Nantwi.”
With the remaining defendant in the case, Michael Fisher, a trial is scheduled for January 2026. Ricks hopes that the verdict will result in a much-needed change. “The next prison guard, before he raises his hand, his billy club, before his gang get together and decide that they’re going to beat somebody, they’re going to think like, ‘There’s a camera there, there’s a camera there,’ you know, ‘There’s no places we can go so we can hide this, so maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Ricks said.
“‘Maybe we should handle this differently.’”
RELATED CONTENT: Do Better: Patrons Skip Out On $200 Bill, ‘Dine-and-Dash’ Fails Black-Owned Restaurants
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/xE5aLsN
via FWG
No comments:
Post a Comment