Ex-Prison Guard Convicted of Manslaughter in Inmate Messiah Nantwi's Beating Death

Jonah Levi, a former New York corrections officer assigned to the Correctional Emergency Response Team, was found guilty on five counts Wednesday for his role in beating 22-year-old Harlem inmate Messiah Nantwi to death inside Mid-State Correctional Facility, a verdict that landed him in handcuffs before he ever left the Utica courtroom.

The Oneida County jury returned guilty verdicts on first-degree manslaughter, first-degree gang assault, second-degree gang assault, fifth-degree conspiracy, and offering a false instrument for filing, the last count tied to an alleged cover-up after the beating. Jurors stopped short of second-degree murder. That distinction carries real sentencing weight: without the murder conviction, Levi faces between 5 and 25 years on the manslaughter count, with the court set to weigh additional factors, including the fact that Levi was already on probation for beating another prisoner in 2023.

Nantwi absorbed 69 documented injuries on March 1, 2025, including at least 15 kicks to the head, as guards used fists, boots, and batons during the confrontation. He died from massive head trauma. Prosecutors argued Levi specifically stomped on Nantwi's head multiple times. A fellow CERT officer, Nathan Palmer, who pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution and falsifying records, testified that Levi kicked Nantwi in the face three to six times. The beating unfolded during an unauthorized wildcat prison strike that forced Governor Kathy Hochul to deploy National Guard members to keep Mid-State operational.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, appointed as special prosecutor, did not soften his language after the verdict. "The first step in justice for Messiah is complete with some work to go," Fitzpatrick said in a statement. In closing arguments, he had framed the act in terms the jury clearly absorbed: "Stomp on someone's head, you're not trying to get their attention. You've divorced yourself from the human race."

Levi's attorney, Lewis G. Spicer, maintained throughout the eight-day trial that his client never used force that caused Nantwi's death. "Jonah Levi did not kick Messiah Nantwi in the head," Spicer said in closing. The defense argued Nantwi was behaving violently, holding a pencil as a weapon, and that he died from a fall in the prison's medical bay rather than from the beating itself. Judge Michael R. Nolan revoked Levi's bail immediately after the verdict.

Patterson Nantwi, Messiah's father, issued a statement that cut to the case's broader meaning. "This verdict sets an important precedent, not just for Messiah, but for everyone who is incarcerated," he said. "No one should have to fear losing their life at the hands of those who are supposed to care for them."

Levi was the first of ten charged guards to stand trial in Nantwi's death. More than half a dozen others have already pleaded guilty to lesser charges tied to the beating and cover-up. Former guard Caleb Blair, who faces a murder charge, is scheduled for trial on May 4. A guard facing manslaughter charges is set for trial June 1. Nantwi had been serving a five-year sentence when he was killed; he was 22 years old.