Former correction officer David Kingsley was sentenced in Oneida County Court on Friday after being found guilty at trial for his role in the beating death of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility last year.
Despite the defense’s request for leniency, the judge sentenced Kingsley to 25 years-to-life in prison for second-degree murder and 25 years with five years post-release supervision for first-degree manslaughter. The sentences will run concurrently.
Before sentencing, Brooks’s son, Robert Brooks Jr., addressed the court. He described how the death of his father and seeing the video of the beating had affected him and his family.
“Last December, I watched you beat my father to death on camera,” said Brooks Jr. “You showed my dad no mercy at all. You treated my dad like he were an object and not a human. Watching your actions on camera felt like I was stuck in a horror movie and you guys were the monsters. I felt broken and there was nothing I could do. I can never get my dad back, but I pray your loved ones never endure the kind of pain I experienced.”
Brooks’ brother, Jared Ricks, also spoke, asking for a sentence appropriate for the crime.
“I ask that Mr. Kingsley receive a sentence that fits his key role in my brother’s brutal killing,” he said. “My brother used to say, ‘being human to forgive is divine for us.’ Forgiveness will take a long road, just like the path through grief and the trudge towards justice. Today, I hope justice is served.”
Kingsley was seen on the body-worn camera video holding Brooks by the neck while he was on a gurney. Dr. Yekaterina Merkulova, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Brooks, testified Brooks died in a homicide caused by compression of the neck and multiple blunt impact injuries.
Defense attorney Luke Nebush said Kingsley was the first to do CPR on Brooks when it became clear that he was in need of medical attention. Nebush said that because of this, a sentence of 15 years was appropriate. The judge disagreed.
“I would like to express my sincerest condolences to the Brooks family in the tragic loss that they’ve suffered,” Kingsley said. “I’m so sad to think that any action of mine led to his untimely death. Words cannot express how truly saddened and heartbroken I am that I was involved with this event that took someone’s loved one from them. I, like many others, will have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
“Everybody that laid a hand on Robert and physically beat him is now serving substantial prison sentences,” said Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick. “Seven years, 15 years, 22 years, 22 years. And now life. And I hope this sends a message that reverberates throughout the rest of New York state.”
Kingsley’s trial included trials of two other former correction officers involved in the incident. The jury found the two other men, Mathew Galliher, who shackled Brooks with leg irons, and Nicholas Kieffer, who pepper-sprayed Brooks, not guilty of murder, manslaughter and second-degree gang assault, and Kieffer not guilty of offering a false instrument for filing.
The defendants had rejected plea deals.