The wind howled outside the Oneida County courthouse as David Kingsley stood before Judge Robert Bauer and was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the beating death of Robert Brooks.
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 the next day. An autopsy was conducted by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office and, in February, Brooks’ death was ruled a homicide.
Three of the four corrections officers charged in the case who had not taken a plea deal with the special prosecutor have gone to trial: David Kingsley, Mathew Galliher, and Nicholas Kieffer.
Kingsley was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter while Galliher and Kieffer were acquitted.
Family delivers victim impact statements
Robert Brooks Jr., Brooks’ son, and Jared Ricks, Brooks’ brother, had a chance to deliver a victim impact statement directly to Kingsley.
Brooks Jr. said he remembered watching his father being beaten and feeling like he was stuck in a horror movie.
Ricks said the number of lives affected by the death of his brother has been unthinkable and that the actions of the corrections officers at Marcy robbed Brooks of his life, liberty, and happiness.
“I pray that the court imposes a sentence severe enough to tell correctional officers that they cannot treat incarcerated individuals like animals and I pray that this court imposes a sentence severe enough to tell incarcerated individuals that their lives matter,” Brooks Jr. said.
Prosecution pushes for maximum sentencing
Onondaga County Assistant District Attorney Jed Hudson said that Kingsley, from the very beginning, was there — carrying Brooks by his feet, wrenching Brooks up by the neck, and holding Brooks by the neck against the wall with Nicholas Anzalone.
“With his entire 300-pound frame, he lifted a 140-pound restrained man off a table by his throat,” Hudson said. “And for no reason.”
Hudson requested the maximum sentence against Kingsley.
“It was Mr. Kingsley’s right to go to trial, but Mr. Kingsley made Mr. Brooks’ family sit in a courtroom, surrounded by people they didn’t know, and watched Robert Brooks die,” Hudson said. “Kingsley alone, of every major player who inflicted horrible injuries on Robert Brooks, insisted on taking responsibility for what he did.”
Defendant apologizes for his actions
When asked if he had anything to say to the court, Kingsley apologized for his actions that day.
“I’d like to express my sincerest condolences to the Brooks family for the tragic loss they’ve suffered,” Kingsley said. “I know nothing I say or do can change the outcome. All of the events that happened over the last three days of Robert Brooks’ life should have never happened. Every single incident was senseless.”
Kingsley was sentenced to an indeterminate time to life in state prison for second-degree murder and 25 years for first-degree manslaughter.
After the sentencing, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said he felt Kingsley’s apology was sincere, but “…far too late.”
“Every defendant reacts differently when they’re sentenced. Some stay silent. I think Mr. Kingsley reflected on the gravity of the situation and it may have been the first time it dawned on him. I don’t think he joined the New York State Department of Corrections to become an animal. But someone has to address the issue of what happened here and what changed him to have such utter and abject disregard for a fellow human being’s life.”
Fitzpatrick added that everyone involved who laid hands on Robert Brooks and physically beat him is now serving a substantial prison sentence.
Reflecting on that, Fitzpatrick admitted that when meeting with Brooks Jr. for the first time, Brooks Jr. didn’t expect anything other than resignation and probationary sentences.
“This is the first case in my memory where a New York State corrections officer has been convicted and sentenced for killing an incarcerated individual,” Fitzpatrick added.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Upstate NY corrections officer sentenced to life in prison in inmate death
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
