As the New York State prison system takes steps towards prison reform, a new report has prompted a response from the father of a slain incarcerated individual.
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) have undergone efforts to improve safety, culture, accountability, and operational effectiveness across the correctional system in the wake of the deaths of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi — according to a statement from DOCCS.
Brooks, an incarcerated individual transferred to Marcy Corrections Facility on Dec. 9, 2024, was brutally beaten with his hands cuffed behind his back by corrections officers while in custody. He died as a result of his injuries on Dec. 10, 2024.
Nantwi, an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility, was beaten to death on March 1, 2025, by a Correction Emergency Response Team to the point of unresponsiveness and beaten twice more, with his hands cuffed behind his back, according to officials.
After the death, a grand jury alleges the corrections officers got together to plant evidence and submit false testimony.
Since the deaths of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi, and the illegal strike in February and March 2025, Gov. Kathy Hochul has invested over $500 million and passed prison reform legislation to improve the safety and well-being of all staff and the incarcerated population, and to ensure transparency, accountability, and oversight within New York’s correctional facilities.
“As a result of these efforts and systemwide investments to improve safety, security, and well-being across corrections facilities, DOCCS has seen a 42% in excessive use of force allegations, a decrease of more than 20% in contraband, a 14% reduction in assaults on staff, and an 11% reduction in incarcerated on incarcerated assaults in 2025 compared to 2024,” DOCCS officials said in a statement.
Various reviews taken
As part of these reform efforts, DOCCS commissioned independent assessments to provide comprehensive reviews of culture, operations, and safety across the state correctional system. DOCCS retained the law firm WilmerHale and expert corrections consulting firm Falcon, Inc. to focus on use of force, supervision, training, accountability, investigations, staffing, contraband, and security.
The report produced 57 recommendations focused on key issues including use of force, staff training and discipline, risk detection and mitigation, contraband, cameras, and modernization to establish a long-term framework for sustainable institutional reform. The full report, including priority, short-term and long-term recommendations, can be viewed here.
DOCCS also partnered with Amend to examine staff wellness, incarcerated individual well-being, organizational culture, communication, leadership, and rehabilitation practices through a public health lens. Amend examined select Department training, policies, and initiatives and conducted site visits at Green Haven and Bedford Hills Correctional Facilities.
Experts focused on opportunities to strengthen engagement between Department leadership and correctional facility staff. Utilizing harm reduction principles, staff engagement, and wellness, Amend produced 20 recommendations to reduce stress, trauma, and other public health related adverse outcomes for staff and incarcerated individuals. The report including the 20 recommendations can be viewed here.
“These reports reflect both the important work already underway to strengthen safety, accountability, and professionalism across DOCCS, and the significant work that still lies ahead,” DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III said in a statement.
“We remain committed to instituting meaningful reforms, implementing the requirements of the Corrections Omnibus Reform Act, and working closely with external partners, service providers, and stakeholders to strengthen transparency, improve operations, and advance safer conditions for everyone in our facilities and communities.”
The review focused primarily on Marcy and Mid-State Correctional Facilities, where Brooks and Nantwi were killed, with additional reviews of Sing Sing and Gouverneur. It included on-site meetings with leadership, staff and incarcerated individuals, surveys, interviews with Central Office leaders, and interviews with retired staff.
A father’s reaction
Patterson Nantwi, the father of Messiah Nantwi, said in a statement the reports on the prison system lay bare the “..horrific violence” his son endured and the efforts to cover up what happened.
“Messiah was only 22 years old, and he deserved to be treated with dignity and respect, not beaten to death by the very people responsible for his safety and care,” said Patterson. “Nothing can bring my son back, but I will continue fighting to make sure that everyone responsible for his death is held accountable and that no other family has to suffer the pain our family lives with every day.”
A statement was also released by Patterson’s counsel, who said they were committed to getting justice for Nantwi and his family.
“Messiah’s killing was not an isolated incident, but the product of systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur and accountability to break down,” said Earl S. Ward and Katie Rosenfeld, Partners at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP and counsel for the plaintiff, in a statement.
“The report documents profound failures in oversight and accountability that allowed misconduct to go unchecked and the truth about Messiah’s death to be concealed. These failures extend far beyond any single officer or incident and demand meaningful, systemic reform. We remain committed to securing full justice and accountability for Messiah and his family.”
In June 2025, ECBAWM and co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Messiah Nantwi.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, the complaint details how correction officers attacked Nantwi while he was handcuffed, unarmed, and defenseless, then conspired to cover up the killing by agreeing to plant a weapon in Nantwi’s cell, destroying evidence, falsifying reports, and coordinating false statements over breakfast the next day.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for violations of Nantwi’s constitutional rights.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Messiah Nantwi’s father responds to prison reform report
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
