On the night of December 9, 43-year-old Robert L. Brooks—being held prisoner at Marcy Correctional Facility near Utica, New York—was beaten, kicked, stomped on and choked, for more than 20 minutes, by almost a dozen prison guards. Just hours after they were through, Brooks was dead. 

The state was forced to release bodycam footage of the murder. From several angles, you watch as these pigs pick Brooks up while he is hogtied (with his hands and feet bound).... you watch as they drag this thin Black man into what looks like a medical room... you watch as they stand around, punching Brooks viciously in his face, in his abdomen, on his back and legs... with Brooks’ hands cuffed behind his back, you watch as one of the pigs lifts his leg and kicks Brooks in the face, putting all his weight into it.... you watch as one of them puts Brooks in a chokehold and lifts him by his neck... and you watch as these pigs mill around as if it's a perfectly normal day... as if they are bored.

Brooks was more than half way through a 12-year sentence after pleading guilty to first degree assault of his girlfriend in 2016. He was being transferred from another prison, and arrived at Marcy facedown with his hands and feet bound. The footage shows guards carry him into the infirmary and immediately start delivering punches and kicks and stuff a piece of cloth into his mouth. They strip his clothes off as he lies motionless and bloodied on his back. 

Nurses eventually tried to revive Brooks, but he was pronounced dead 6 hours later at a hospital. The preliminary findings of an autopsy pointed to “asphyxia [lack of oxygen] due to compression of the neck as the cause of death.”

Marcy Guards Have Been Doing This for Years

It turns out that several of the guards who took part in the lynching of Robert Brooks had already been named in lawsuits alleging systematic abuse at Marcy prison. Since 2020, at least three of them were implicated in five other instances of similar brutality. One lawsuit accused them of being part of a “beat-up squad” that targeted inmates. One of their victims was permanently disfigured, and required facial surgery. Another was left in a wheelchair.

But even with those previous charges, these pigs acted like they were doing nothing wrong. They acted like they had total license to beat, kick, choke and terrorize this defenseless Black man—even as they all knew their body cameras were on! 

What does it tell you that these pigs acted like it was a normal day on the job? Because this is their job!