Overview

• Christopher Walrath, one of six guards originally charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter under a plea deal calling for 15 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
• Body-camera footage showed Walrath and other officers beating Robert Brooks, a handcuffed inmate, including using a chokehold, striking him with a shoe, and lifting him by the neck.
• Brooks, who was serving a 12-year sentence for assault, died the day after the attack, with an autopsy ruling his death a homicide caused by neck compression and blunt-impact injuries.
• The plea deal is the first among the ten prison staff members indicted in connection with Brooks's death; others face charges ranging from murder to evidence tampering.
• Brooks's family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against 17 individuals, alleging systemic abuse and negligence within the New York prison system.