Verdict for correctional officer Jonah Levi in the Messiah Nantwi trial
UTICA, N.Y. -- A former corrections officer was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday in the fatal beating of an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The jury in Utica, New York, also found Jonah Levi guilty of gang assault and conspiracy in the death Messiah Nantwi on March 1, 2025, and the subsequent coverup. The jurors acquitted him of second-degree murder. Levi was the first guard to go on trial in Nantwi's death. Nantwi, 22, was struck dozens of times by guards who used their fists, boots and batons. He died due to massive head trauma and other injuries to his body from the beatings, according to prosecutors. The beating occurred during a wildcat strike by many officers that forced the governor to send in National Guard members to help keep order. Nantwi’s death also came several months after Robert Brooks was fatally beaten at a separate prison just across the road from Mid-State. Levi was part of an emergency response team called to Nantwi’s hous...
