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three former new york State corrections officers charged in the fatal beating of an inmate were trying to do their jobs under difficult circumstances and should not be blamed for the violent acts of other guards involved in the beating, defense attorneys told a jury Wednesday.
Closing arguments began in a Utica courtroom in the trial of Matthew Galliher, Nicholas Kiefer and David Kingsley, who face murder and first-degree manslaughter charges in the death of Robert Brooks. The 43-year-old man was beaten by several guards upon arriving at Marcy Correctional Facility on December 9. The five officers convicted in February had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Brooks’ death under plea deals.
Defense attorneys told the jury that their clients were not among the guards who attacked Brooks and that they made quick decisions in the chaotic situation that night.
Kingsley’s attorney Luke Nebusch said, “Just because corrections officers wear the same uniform, it doesn’t mean they’re part of the same gang. It doesn’t mean they have the same motivations, knowledge or intentions.” “The actions of a few people, even those who appear violent in the video, do not make everyone in that room equally culpable.”
Kingsley picked up Brooks by the neck the night he was beaten.
Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick has said that Brooks was beaten three separate times upon arriving at the prison, with the last fatal beating in the hospital captured on silent body-camera footage.
Brooks suffered a broken nose, a black eye and injuries to his spleen, liver and back. Blood Officials said he suffered a leak in his lungs and stomach.
Publicly released footage of the brutal beating sparked outrage and calls for prison reform.
Galliher’s attorney on Wednesday showed portions of those bodycam videos to demonstrate that Galliher participated in the events during which he was introduced in leg shackles, per a supervisor’s request. Kevin Luibrand said Galliher didn’t plan anything and tried to do his job despite minimal training and a lack of guidance from his sergeant.
“These were circumstances that Matthew Galliher did not create,” Luibrand said.
Luibrand blamed other officers who worked on the plea deal for Brooks’ death.
Closing arguments were to continue till Wednesday afternoon.
A grand jury indicted 10 guards on murder and lesser charges. In addition to the five men who pleaded guilty to first- or second-degree murder, another pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted tampering with physical evidence.
Another corrections officer is scheduled to go on trial in January for second-degree murder.
Three more employees have agreed to plead to reduced charges and are cooperating with prosecutors, including two former guards who testified at the trial.
Kiefer and Galliher were also charged with second-degree gang assault. Kiefer faces a fourth charge of filing a false document.
The prison is about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of new york city,
Onondaga County District Attorney Fitzpatrick is also prosecuting guards in the March 1 fatal beating of Messiah Nantwi at a nearby prison, Mid-State Correctional Facility. Ten guards were convicted in April in Nantwi’s death, two of whom are charged with murder.