Utica, N.Y. — Nathan Palmer and Jonah Levi had worked together for years as corrections officers at a state prison in Central New York.
They had been co-workers and friends for long enough, Palmer said, to know when you screw up.
He remembered speaking bluntly with Levi after seeing him “curb stomp” an inmate’s head last spring at the prison where they worked, the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy.
“What the f–k?” he recalled saying to Levi minutes after the assault. “What the f–k, man?”
Palmer testified Wednesday in a Utica courtroom at Levi’s trial in the beating death of the inmate, Messiah Nantwi.
Levi is one of several corrections officers accused of brutally beating Nantwi to death after he acted up during a count of inmates on March 1, 2025. They are also accused of later trying to cover up their actions.
Levi faces six charges, including second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in prison if the jury finds him guilty.
Three more officers are set to stand trial later this spring. Six others indicted in the case have reached deals with prosecutors and pleaded guilty.
Palmer is one of six additional people who have reached deals and agreed to become cooperating witnesses.
He was promised no more than two years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to first-degree hindering prosecution and first-degree falsifying business records, both felonies.
After Nantwi had acted up during the inmate count, National Guard personnel helping staff the prison radioed for assistance. The Correctional Emergency Response Team, which included Levi and Palmer, responded at about 11 a.m.
Palmer was the first CERT team member to enter Nantwi’s prison dormitory room, followed by officer Joshua Bartlett.
Nantwi refused to be handcuffed, Palmer said. He then lunged, Palmer said, putting his arms around Bartlett’s neck area.
Palmer said he attempted to separate the two men. He first tried moving them onto the bed and later took them to the ground.
Palmer said he was able to get a handcuff on Nantwi’s right wrist, but not his left wrist. Other officers, including Caleb Blair, had entered the room by that point.
The situation escalated when Nantwi bit Blair’s finger.
Palmer said he then saw Levi “stomp” Nantwi in the head five or six times.
Nantwi’s roommate, Michael Moon, was present during the beating. He testified in court that he was directed to stand up against a wall, out of the way.
Moon said Levi kicked Nantwi “like he was a football.”
“Literally took a step back and kicked him right in the face,” he said.
Nantwi’s head went into a nearby locker, Moon said. He recalled that making a loud noise.
The corrections officers later carried a bloodied Nantwi out of the room and to the infirmary. He would also be beaten there, prosecutors have said. He was pronounced dead within a half-hour.
The beatings almost didn’t happen.
When the Guard personnel requested help, the first corrections officer to arrive was James Backer.
Backer had worked for decades in the prison system. His body camera captures him running over, keys jangling, to the building where Nantwi was housed.
Backer recalled the prison dormitory floor being quiet when he arrived. He asked Nantwi how he was doing, and if he needed anything.
Nantwi had his hands raised, Backer said, and “seemed fine.”
“There was no threat going on,” he said. “I was ready to leave.”
By the time he turned around to exit Nantwi’s room, the CERT team had arrived. Palmer and Bartlett were walking inside the room. They did not ask what had happened.
After the beatings, Moon said one of the officers later returned with a task for him. To clean everything up.
The small room was a mess, Moon said. There was blood all over the floor, he said.
After sitting for a few moments, Moon said, he got to work. He went to a supply area to get a mop, some soap and a gray towel.
Olivia Tabor, an investigator with the State Police, said each crime scene at the prison “had been disturbed.”
“Put bluntly, they were cleaned up,” she said.
Palmer recalled meeting sometime after Nantwi’s death with Sgt. Francis Chandler Jr., one of the supervisors on duty that day.
Palmer had gone to Chandler’s home after an interview with Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who is a special prosecutor in the case.
The various attempts to hide what happened didn’t appear to be working.
“I told him they know everything,” Palmer said.
