A former corrections officer has admitted his role in the deadly beating of an inmate at a New York state prison, accepting an 11-year prison sentence as part of a plea agreement reached Monday.
Caleb Blair, who previously worked as a guard at Mid-State Correctional Facility near Utica, entered his guilty plea to manslaughter charges just as his trial was about to begin. Blair had originally been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the March 1, 2025 death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi, making his case the most severe among the officers involved.
According to prosecutors, Nantwi endured a brutal assault consisting of 69 individual strikes from corrections officers who attacked him with fists, boots, and batons during multiple beatings. The young man died from severe head trauma and additional injuries. Blair was identified as one of two guards responsible for inflicting the fatal head wounds on Nantwi, who was serving a five-year term for engaging in a shootout with police officers.
The violent incident began when Nantwi resisted being handcuffed during a routine prisoner count, court documents revealed.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who handled the prosecution, confirmed that Nantwi’s family supported the plea arrangement.
“I’m satisfied that justice was done,” Fitzpatrick stated during a phone conversation with The Associated Press following the court proceeding. “There has to be systemic changes in the facilities regarding relationships between (corrections officers) and incarcerated individuals, and I hope that people just don’t turn the page.”
Defense attorney William Sullivan said his client took full responsibility for his conduct. Sullivan noted that Blair had maintained an unblemished record as a corrections officer without any disciplinary issues and had military service with the National Guard overseas.
“It was a terrible combination of eight minutes, six minutes, in that cell that ruined an otherwise exemplary life,” Sullivan explained. “If you had a daughter and Caleb Blair came home to ask for her hand, you’d be proud.”
The court scheduled Blair’s sentencing for June 17.
Legal representatives for Nantwi’s family emphasized that the relatives’ primary concern was ensuring accountability for his death.
“Most of the defendants here are going to jail. And hopefully the impact of that will resonate throughout the state prisons, which for far too long have tolerated and turned a blind eye to violence against inmates,” lawyers Earl Ward and Katie Rosenfeld wrote in their statement.
Jonah Levi, the second former officer whom Fitzpatrick identified as delivering head blows to Nantwi, was convicted of manslaughter and additional charges by a jury last month despite denying the accusations. He is awaiting his sentencing hearing.
Another ex-guard, Craig Klemick, entered a guilty plea on Friday to charges of filing false documentation, a charge typically used when someone lies in official incident reports. Multiple other former guards have also accepted plea deals, leaving just one remaining case for trial.
The original indictment from last year named 10 corrections officers, with six facing assault charges related to Nantwi’s beating. The remaining four were accused of orchestrating a cover-up that involved submitting fraudulent reports, attempting to plant a homemade weapon, and removing blood evidence from Nantwi’s cell.
The fatal assault took place during an unauthorized work stoppage by numerous officers, which prompted the governor to deploy National Guard personnel to maintain facility operations. Nantwi’s death occurred just months after Robert Brooks was beaten to death at another prison located directly across from Mid-State.
