Overview

• Christopher Walrath received a 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the December beating of inmate Robert L. Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility.
• Brooks was repeatedly punched, kicked and put in a chokehold in the prison infirmary before dying hours later, a death officially ruled a homicide by compression and blunt-impact injuries.
• None of the four officers present activated their body cameras, but a fail-safe memory recorded 30 minutes of silent footage capturing the assault.
• Walrath is the first of ten corrections staff indicted in the case to be sentenced, while the remaining officers face trials or ongoing plea negotiations.
• The Brooks family has filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit and advocates are intensifying calls for systemic reforms and stronger oversight in New York’s prison system.