UTICA, N.Y. — A prosecutor told a jury Thursday that a New York prison guard, Michael Fisher, should be convicted of manslaughter for failing to intervene while inmate Robert Brooks was beaten to death in the prison infirmary. The closing arguments capped the final trial for correctional officers in a case that drew national attention after body-camera footage of the beating was made public.
Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick argued that Fisher had enough time and opportunity to stop what was happening. During his closing, Fitzpatrick told jurors, “For seven minutes — seven gut-churning, nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and he did nothing,” and the jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon.
Fisher, 55, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in Brooks’ death. The prosecution said Brooks was beaten by guards after his arrival at Marcy Correctional Facility on the night of Dec. 9, 2024, and that his agony was recorded by body cameras. Officials said the images showed guards striking Brooks in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck and dropping him.
The defense disputed what Fisher knew and when he knew it. Fisher’s attorney, Scott Iseman, told jurors that Fisher entered the infirmary after the beating began and could not have known the extent of Brooks’ injuries, and Iseman asked jurors to consider what Fisher could have known at the time “without the benefit of 2020 hindsight.”
Iseman also emphasized limitations he said Fisher did not have while the incident unfolded. “Michael Fisher did not have a rewind button. He did not have the ability to enhance. He did not have the ability to pause. He did not have the ability to get a different perspective of what was happening in the room,” Iseman told the jury.
Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney, acknowledged that other officers were also involved. “Did Michael Fisher recklessly cause the death of Robert Brooks? Of course he did. Not by himself. He had plenty of other helpers,” Fitzpatrick told jurors, with video shown to support the prosecution’s argument that Fisher did not intervene.
In addition to the courtroom arguments, the trial unfolded against broader scrutiny of New York’s prison system. Advocates said prisons remained plagued by understaffing and other problems, especially after a wildcat strike by guards last year, and officials faced public pressure after images of the beating prompted outrage.
In response to the strike, Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard troops to maintain operations and more than 2,000 guards were fired. State officials said there were still about 3,000 National Guard members serving the state prison system. Advocates pointed to prison deaths during the strike, including Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at Mid-State Correctional Facility, which is across the road from Marcy, and noted that 10 other guards were indicted in Nantwi’s death in April, including two charged with murder.
Even before Brooks’ death, critics said the prison system had problems that included brutality, overworked staff and inconsistent services. In the aftermath of criminal indictments unsealed in February, the state also moved to address surveillance and staffing, Hochul announcing last month a broad reform agreement with lawmakers that includes a requirement that cameras be installed in all facilities and that video recordings related to deaths behind bars be promptly released to state investigators.
The state also lowered the hiring age for correction officers from 21 to 18 years old. Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, said on the eve of Fisher’s trial, “The absence of staff in critical positions is affecting literally every aspect of prison operations. And I think the experience for incarcerated people is neglect.”
The trial is the last of the guards indicted in February to face a jury. Fisher was among 10 guards indicted in February, three more agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in return for cooperating, and of the 10 indicted officers, six pleaded guilty to manslaughter or lesser charges while four rejected plea deals; the first trial last fall included one murder conviction and two acquittals.