The New York state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) identified 15 people of interest who they said are involved in the investigation into the death of an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County earlier this month, the department announced Wednesday.
There still has been no determination concerning anyone's involvement, DOCCS said, but all of those named as part of the probe are on administrative leave, pending the results of an ongoing internal disciplinary review.
Three indiviuals have been suspended without pay — Mid-State correction officer Joshua Bartlett, Marcy correction officer Zachary Lallier and Mid-State Sgt. Francis Chandler, according to DOCCS.
Placed on administrative leave with pay are:
- Mid-State correction officer Frank Jacobs
- Mid--State correction officer Adam Joseph
- Mid-State correction officer Jonah Levi
- Mid-State correction officer Nathan Palmer
- Mid-State correction officer Caleb Blair
- Mid-State correction officer Daniel Burger
- Mid-State Sgt. Donald Slawson
- Mid-State Sgt. Michael Iffert
- Marcy correction officer Craig Klemick
- Marcy correction officer Tristan Sheppard
- Marcy correction officer Thomas Eck
- Marcy correction officer Nicholas Vitale
The inmate, Messiah Nantwi, 22, was pronounced dead at Wynn Hospital in Utica on March 1.
Mid-State Correctional is located across the street from Marcy Correctional Facility, where authorities say the use of force by correction officers led to the death of Robert Brooks in December. Six prison workers have been charged with murder in that case. Several deaths of incarcerated individuals were reported across the state during the recent three-week strike by correction officers, according to DOCCS.
The state attorney general's office earlier this month recused itself from the investigation and, like the Brooks case, appointed Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick as special prosecutor. Fitzpatrick, a registered Republican, was first elected Onondaga County DA in 1991 and was reelected to a ninth term in 2023.
As per a state law passed in 2020, the New York attorney general’s office is required to investigate any incident in which a member of law enforcement is reported to have caused the death of a person by act or omission.
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