UTICA — A corrections officer pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday in the fatal beating of a handcuffed inmate at an upstate New York prison — an attack that was caught on video by guards' body cameras, sparked public outrage and led to charges against more than a dozen people.
Christopher Walrath, 36, was one of six guards charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 9 beating of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter during a hearing at state court in Utica.
The plea deal, which was the first agreed to by one of the six who were charged with murder, calls for Walrath to get a 15-year prison term. He will remain free on bail pending his Aug. 4 sentencing.
Under questioning from Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, the special prosecutor, Walrath admitted that he and other guards assaulted Brooks. He also acknowledged that he put Brooks in a chokehold, that he struck the inmate's body and groin and that he lied to investigators about what happened.
Walrath appeared somber with his hands clasped in front of him as he answered questions with either “yes” or “correct.” He and his attorney declined to comment while leaving court.
Brooks began serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault in 2017 and was transferred to Marcy from a nearby lockup on the night he was beaten to death. Fitzpatrick said Brooks was beaten three times that night, the last of which was the attack caught on bodycam footage.
“The reality is, he did nothing. It was welcome to Marcy,” the prosecutor said of the reason for the beatings.
He told reporters after the hearing that Walrath left his post to join in the attacks.
“Sadly, just emblematic of a system and a problem that is persistent at that institution, and perhaps others as well,” Fitzpatrick said.
He said the plea deal was based on the evidence of Walrath’s involvement in the beatings and the prosecutor's judgment that the blows Walrath inflicted on Brooks “were non-lethal.”
Fitzpatrick said it was possible the guilty plea would spur other guards to reach agreements, but that his office had not had recent discussions with the other defense attorneys.
Brooks' son Robert Brooks Jr., who was at the hearing, said in a statement afterward that the guilty plea was "one important but modest step on the long road to justice for my father.”
“Now, Mr. Walrath’s life is in the hands of prison officials. This must be a terrifying prospect for him and his family, knowing what staff is capable of, and how little the system values the lives of incarcerated people,” the victim's son said. “I pray that Mr. Walrath has the opportunity in prison to rehabilitate himself, and come out a better man.”
In addition to the six guards who were charged with murder, three workers at the prison were charged with manslaughter and another was charged with evidence tampering. Three other prison workers have reached agreements but have yet to enter those pleas, according to prosecutors.
In the bodycam videos, officers could be seen beating Brooks, who was on a medical examination table with his hands cuffed behind his back. They struck him in the chest with a shoe, lifted him by his neck and dropped him. Brooks died the next day.
The beating drew widespread condemnation and calls for reforms. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said she was “outraged and horrified” by the videos, appointed a new superintendent for the prison. She also ordered state officials to initiate proceedings to fire 13 correctional officers and a nurse implicated in the attack.
Fitzpatrick also is prosecuting guards in the fatal beating of Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at another Marcy lockup, the Mid-State Correctional Facility. Ten guards were indicted in that case last month, including two who are charged with murder.
