Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has reportedly offered plea deals to 10 New York prison guards indicted in connection with the fatal beating of a handcuffed inmate.
The offers, minus specific details, were disclosed during a pretrial court conference Monday by Fitzpatrick, who was appointed special prosecutor in the case of Robert Brooks . The defendants, including six correctional officers charged with murder, are expected to appear in court in April to decide whether to accept or reject the deals.
The case stems from the December death of the 43-year-old Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility, where he was brutally beaten in an incident captured on body-worn cameras. Three additional prison employees face manslaughter charges, while another is accused of evidence tampering.
The officers are accused of acting with other correctional officers in conduct that “created a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby caused the death of Robert Brooks,” according to a criminal indictment.
The incident occurred December 9th at the medium-security prison near Utica. The 43-year-old Brooks was serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault. He died December 10th at a Utica hospital.
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