Jonah Levi Sentenced to 25 Years in Mid-State Death Case

jonah levi was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the death of inmate Messiah Nantwi at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy. The sentence follows his April conviction for manslaughter, gang assault and filing a false instrument, while a murder charge did not stick.

Mid-State Correctional Facility

Levi was a former prison guard at the facility in Oneida County where investigators say Nantwi died from injuries after being beaten by guards on March 1. The case moved from the courtroom verdict to sentencing with the special prosecutor seeking the maximum term and the defense asking for five years.

Oneida County Prison Case

Ten guards were indicted in Nantwi’s death, and nine of them have now reached plea deals. That leaves Levi’s sentence as the remaining public punishment in the case described by prosecutors, with the conviction centered on what happened during the beating and the false filing that followed.

Robert Brooks At Marcy

Nantwi’s death came months after the beating death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility, which is across the street from Mid-State. For the families tied to both cases, Levi’s sentence closes one chapter while the broader prosecution has already moved through multiple plea deals and one completed sentencing.