Jonah Levi was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Tuesday for his role in the death of an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, closing one part of a case that has put a harsh spotlight on what investigators said was a beating by guards inside the prison.
Levi, a former prison guard, was found guilty in April of manslaughter, gang assault and filing a false instrument. He was acquitted on a murder charge. The sentence came after the special prosecutor asked for the maximum punishment, while the defense sought a minimum of five years.
Investigators said Messiah Nantwi died from his injuries after being beaten by guards on March 1 at the prison in Oneida County. Ten guards were indicted in Nantwi’s death, and nine of the 10 have now reached plea deals, underscoring how wide the case has spread beyond Levi’s conviction.
The sentencing also lands in the shadow of another death at the facility. Nantwi’s killing came months after Robert Brooks died after a beating at Marcy Correctional Facility, which sits across the street from Mid-State and has become part of a broader examination of force, accountability and plea deals inside the prison system.
For Levi, the punishment is now fixed. What remains is how the wider case will end, with one guard still not accounted for in plea agreements and the broader investigation continuing to tie together two deadly incidents at neighboring prisons in Marcy.
