Why was Robert Brooks in jail? Sentence, conviction and all we know as inmate beaten to death at Marcy Correctional Facility

Body-cam footage released on Friday, December 27, showed New York correctional officers fatally beating inmate Robert Brooks to death earlier this month. Robert Brooks (43), a convicted inmate, passed away on December 10 at Wynn Hospital in Utica, NY, after an encounter with officers the day earlier at the Marcy Correctional Facility located in Oneida County.

Brooks, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2017 for first-degree assault, was reportedly moved from Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility on December 9.

Robert Brooks, from Greece, New York, was 35 years old in 2017 when he was sentenced to 12 years in state prison along with four-year post-release supervision for stabbing his long-time girlfriend, 34-year-old Diana Rivera, in the chest, neck, side, and back.

The incident reportedly occurred in 2016. According to ABC News affiliate WHAM, on April 18, 2016, Robert Brooks stabbed his girlfriend several times on Woodhill Drive. A witness at the scene told the publication she heard a woman arguing with a man. The witness, Melinda Miller, said:

"I heard a woman saying 'I'm not afraid of you' and then a lot of screaming. He was on top of her, and I said quite a few choice words and started walking towards them not knowing really what was going on. All of a sudden, I saw her bleeding, and then he jumped up and walked away."

The witness said the victim, Rivera, collapsed in her neighbor's front yard. She added:

"She was awake. We spoke and I held her hand. I promised her we would take good care of her."

Brooks fled the scene after a witness confronted him. Brooks was hospitalized the same night of the attack with self-inflicted wounds. He was arraigned the next day. Meanwhile, the victim was rushed to the hospital. She sustained severe wounds in the attack.

What happened to Robert Brooks?

According to Newsweek, On December 9, hours after being transferred to Marcy’s, Robert Brooks was taken to the medical examination room and beaten by the prison officers while he was handcuffed. Over a dozen officers were in the medical examination room at the time of the incident.

The footage of the incident released by New York Attorney General Letitia James did not include audio, as the officers, who were wearing body cameras, did not activate them. The video did not show Brooks fighting back as the officers repeatedly leveled blows.

A preliminary report from the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office stated:

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"concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another.”

At Least 13 officers were suspended without pay as authorities continued investigating the case.

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