By Jon Moss
syracuse.com
UTICA, N.Y. — A former New York state corrections officer was sentenced Monday in connection with the fatal beating of an inmate earlier this year at a Central New York prison.
Oneida County Court Judge Michael Nolan sentenced the former officer, Daniel Burger, to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison.
Burger previously pleaded guilty to first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. He had been indicted on that charge, as well as first-degree manslaughter, first-degree gang assault, second-degree gang assault and fifth-degree conspiracy.
A series of corrections officers are accused of delivering multiple beatings to inmate Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County.
They used their fists, batons and boots to strike Nantwi, prosecutors have said. He was found with no signs of life 45 minutes after the guards first entered his cell.
The officers then worked to cover their tracks, prosecutors said. They are accused of falsifying forms, planting a weapon and meeting the following day at a local diner to agree on a false story.
Ten guards were indicted in the case, including two for murder. They and five others were charged with manslaughter.
Another six people have agreed to become cooperating witnesses for the prosecution.
The case is set to go to trial early next year.
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