The family of Robert Brooks promised their fight for justice won't end with a historic $24 million settlement or the conviction of correctional officers who brutally beat the handcuffed man to death in 2024.
Their focus now turns to people still incarcerated across New York.
"Help is on the way," Brooks' brother Jared Ricks said at a Sept. 21 news conference. "I think this case definitely opened people's eyes. I know it opened mine. You don't necessarily see the horrors that happen behind the wall."
He called some of the guards at state prisons "as nefarious" as the individuals sentenced there.
Brooks, 43, was fatally beaten inside the infirmary of Marcy Correctional Facility near Utica on Dec. 9, 2024, while he lay handcuffed on a gurney. A hidden
fallback feature on the officers' body-worn cameras unknowingly captured the attack. He died from his injuries the following day.
At the time, Brooks was serving a 12-year prison sentence for a 2016 stabbing involving his girlfriend.
Ten corrections officers were charged in connection to the beating. One was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for Brooks' murder; several others pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges. Lawyers for Brooks' estate later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the state of a pattern of abuses that failed to protect the man while he was incarcerated.
"The culture at Marcy, and at many other New York correctional facilities, dictated that Robert needed to be taught a lesson" because he was labeled uncooperative, attorney Steve Schwarz said. "(This) has played out and been covered up at DOCCS facilities throughout the state daily and for decades."
Another family attorney, Elizabeth Mazur, said the $24 million settlement is believed to be the highest award in a prison death case nationwide. She said it speaks to the brutality Brooks endured in the 24 hours leading up to his death. "Robert knew he was being killed," she said.
In the aftermath of his death, Brooks' son, Robert Brooks Jr., channeled his grief into advocacy, working with lawmakers and organizations to promote prison reform.
On Sept. 21, he pledged to keep that momentum going.
"The first time I watched that video, the thing that hurt me the most was seeing my father alone," Brooks Jr. said. "It was him against 10 other officers. There was no concern for him. No one stood up for him. And most importantly, no one comforted him in his last breaths. ... I will have to live with this memory for the rest of my life."
State officials quickly condemned the attack. Gov. Kathy Hochul last week called the beating a horrific and senseless killing.
"There is nothing that can erase the pain the Brooks family has endured," she said in a statement Sept. 18. "It is my hope that this agreement will provide them with some measure of relief in the aftermath of his loss.
In a separate statement, officials with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision called Brooks' death a "dark and painful chapter" in the agency's history and said they are committed to impactful reforms.
― Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle with a focus on immigration, police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Instagram @bykaylacanne. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: 'Help is on the way.' Robert Brooks' family turns to prison reform
