Marcy Correctional Facility

Incidents

Marcy was the subject of an October 2022 Correctional Association of New York oversight report released in 2023 that included a two-day monitoring visit and 117 interviews with inmates. Findings included poor food quality, a lack of hygienic goods, poor healthcare amenities due to staffing vacancies, racialized verbal and physical abuse against black inmates, widespread violence against inmates by staff, and an unresponsive grievance process.

On December 9, 2024, corrections officers fatally beat Robert Brooks while he was handcuffed in a medical examination room. The killing of Brooks prompted renewed scrutiny and investigations over Marcy Correctional Facility's history of abuse by staff. On February 20, 2025, "nearly a dozen" of those involved in the beating and death of Brooks, including at least six correctional officers, would be indicted by a grand jury and arrested on murder, manslaughter, gang assault and tampering with evidence charges. Three of the officers are defendants in other brutality suits, one alleging that they are part of a "beat-up squad" at the prison. In response, some state lawmakers have suggested closing the facility.

On March 1, 2025, prisoner Messiah Nantwi at the neighboring Mid-State Correctional Facility was beaten to death by corrections officers. Of the 15 officers initially named as persons of interest in the case, 5 were employed by Marcy and were working at Mid-State at the time. Two of those Marcy employees, Craig Klemick and Thomas Eck, were charged with manslaughter charges. Three of these five Marcy employees, Klemick, Eck and Nicholas Vitale, would also receive charges related to an effort to cover up details surrounding Nantwi's death. All of the 15 correctional officers of interest who were employed by the Marcy and Mid-State Correctional facilities have been either placed on leave or suspended.

In the morning of November 7, 2025, a Muslim prison chaplain shot himself in the administrative offices of Marcy, using a gun he had brought in from outside. He died on the scene, leaving a note written in Arabic. State Senator Julia Salazar questioned why the chaplain was allowed to enter while possessing a gun. A spokesman of the state Department of Corrections said that under state law, staff cannot be forced to go through body scanners, although they can be randomly selected for bag searches or a pass through a metal detector.

References

References

1. (2024-03-29). "Marcy Correctional Facility".
2. "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Marcy town, NY". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
3. (December 2001). "Marcy". DOCS Today.
4. "CANY Releases Report on Marcy Correctional Facility".
5. Haught, J. Staas. "Guards beat inmate to death; what we know about Marcy Correctional Facility incident".
6. Ventura, Juliann. (2024-12-28). "FBI investigating killing of inmate after assault by correctional officers".
7. (2025-02-20). "Murder charges announced in death of Robert Brooks, man beaten by New York correctional officers". NBC News.
8. Jones, Brendan J.. (February 20, 2025). "Murder, manslaughter, gang assault charges in Robert Brooks beating death". Albany Times Union.
9. Anderson, Renee. (February 20, 2025). "New York officers in beating of Robert Brooks Sr. indicted for murder by grand jury". CBS News New York.
10. Moriarty, Rick. (2024-12-27). "2 NY prison guards involved in Robert Brooks' death are part of larger 'beat-up' squad, lawsuit claims".
11. Han, Jeongyoon. (2025-01-24). "State lawmakers call for prison reform after death of inmate".
12. (March 26, 2025). "DOCCS Names Correctional Staff as 'Persons of Interest' in Mid-State Facility Death Investigation". WKTV.
13. (April 16, 2025). "NY prison guards beat an inmate to death then tried to cover it up, prosecutors say". Associated Press.
14. (April 17, 2025). "Multiple COs Indicted in Death of Mid-State Inmate Messiah Nantwi: Court Video, Indictment Document and Statements". WKTV.
15. Rayman, Graham. (2025-11-07). "Muslim chaplain takes life at troubled New York prison where guards fatally beat inmate".