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Ex-Officer Sentenced to 15 Years for Robert Brooks’ Fatal Beating

This first conviction in the Brooks case underscores intensified prosecutions of corrections officers alongside wider prison system reforms.

FILE - Correctional officer Christopher Walrath, center, appears in Oneida County Court, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Utica, N.Y., to enter a guilty plea for manslaughter in the December 2024 death of inmate Robert Brooks. (AP Photo/Michael Hill, file)
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Overview

  • Christopher Walrath was sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the Dec. 9 fatal beating of handcuffed inmate Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility.
  • Walrath admitted he choked Brooks and struck him repeatedly in the infirmary, with body cameras capturing 30 minutes of footage via a fail-safe recall despite guards failing to activate recordings.
  • Prosecutors have offered plea deals to multiple officers and scheduled trials for those who rejected agreements, with nine other guards facing murder and manslaughter charges.
  • Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the dismissal of 18 state employees implicated in the case after the death was ruled a homicide by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner.
  • New York’s Department of Corrections now requires universal body-cam activation and continues to rely on National Guard deployments to address staffing shortages following widespread firings.