A former New York prison guard pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment after jurors said they were deadlocked on the more serious manslaughter count against him in the beating death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility. Michael Fisher, one of 10 correctional officers charged in connection with Brooks’ death, accepted the plea midway through what had been a weeklong trial on second-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Fisher’s plea brings to seven the number of the 10 indicted guards who have entered guilty pleas to manslaughter or lesser charges, with one convicted of murder and two acquitted — a fragmented legal outcome in a case that drew national attention after body-camera footage of the December 2024 killing prompted calls for prison reform.
UTICA, N.Y. — A former New York prison guard pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge after jurors told the court they were deadlocked on a more serious manslaughter count against him, ending the first trial to reach a jury in the beating death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility.
Michael Fisher, a former correctional officer, entered a guilty plea to second-degree reckless endangerment. He is expected to be sentenced January 30 to six months in county jail under the agreement, according to the Associated Press. Local media reported the sentence will be deferred while Fisher appeals the prosecution’s theory of his criminal liability.
Fisher had been charged with second-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
What the prosecution alleged
Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick, in his closing argument Thursday, described Fisher standing in the infirmary room without intervening as other officers beat Brooks. “For seven minutes — seven gut-churning, nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and he did nothing,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fisher’s attorney, Scott Iseman, argued the prosecution failed to prove his client’s inaction caused Brooks’ death, saying Fisher entered the infirmary after the beating had begun and could not have known the extent of the injuries. “I can’t tell you the amount of stress someone goes through when they’re facing five to 15 years in state prison, and so this resolution helps alleviate a lot of that, provides certainty to him and his family,” Iseman said, according to Spectrum News.
Status of the 10 indicted guards
Brooks, a 43-year-old Black man, was beaten to death on December 9, 2024, immediately after arriving at Marcy Correctional Facility in Utica. Guards’ body cameras captured the assault, and the footage prompted calls for prison reform. Ten correctional officers were charged in February 2025.
Of those 10, seven have now pleaded guilty to manslaughter or lesser charges. One was convicted of murder. Two were acquitted in a trial last fall. Three of the guards who pleaded guilty agreed to reduced charges in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors.