Prison Guard Pleads to Reduced Charge in Fatal Inmate Beating Case
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A former New York prison guard accused of failing to intervene while fellow officers beat an inmate to death has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, bringing an abrupt end to his trial after jurors said they were deadlocked on a more serious count.
Michael Fisher entered a guilty plea to second-degree reckless endangerment on Friday, a misdemeanor, after jurors deliberating his second-degree manslaughter charge informed the court they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The plea agreement concludes a weeklong trial that stemmed from the death of Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old Black man who was fatally beaten shortly after arriving at Marcy Correctional Facility on December 9, 2024.
Brooks’ death, which was captured on correctional officers’ body-worn cameras, sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for prison reform across New York State. The footage showed Brooks being assaulted in a prison infirmary room by multiple officers, leading to criminal charges against 10 correctional staff members.
Under the plea deal, Fisher is expected to be sentenced on January 30 to six months in county jail. Sentencing will be deferred while Fisher appeals the prosecution’s legal theory regarding his criminal responsibility, according to local media reports. Fisher had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the original manslaughter charge.
Fisher’s attorney, Scott Iseman, said the plea brought relief after months of uncertainty. “I can’t tell you the amount of stress someone goes through when they’re facing five to 15 years in state prison,” Iseman told Spectrum News. “This resolution helps alleviate a lot of that and provides certainty to him and his family.”
Prosecutors had argued that Fisher bore criminal responsibility not because he struck Brooks, but because he failed to act while the beating unfolded. In a forceful closing argument, special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said Fisher stood by for several minutes as Brooks was assaulted.
“For seven minutes — seven gut-churning, nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and he did nothing,” Fitzpatrick told the jury.
The defense countered that prosecutors failed to prove Fisher’s inaction caused Brooks’ death. Iseman argued that his client entered the infirmary after the assault had already begun and could not have known the severity of Brooks’ injuries at the time.
Fisher is one of 10 correctional officers charged in connection with Brooks’ death. Of those, seven have now pleaded guilty to manslaughter or lesser offenses. One officer was convicted of murder, while two others were acquitted in a separate trial last fall. Prosecutors have said three additional guards have agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for cooperating with the investigation.
The case has become one of the most closely watched prison brutality prosecutions in New York in recent years, highlighting systemic issues within the state’s correctional system and raising questions about accountability when officers fail to intervene during acts of violence behind bars.
