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.