New York Inmates Who Exposed Messiah Nantwi’s Murder Wrote to Dare to Struggle – Chicago
Drawings sent to us by M Cleaver
On March 15th, Dare to Struggle – Chicago wrote letters to inmates at the Midstate Correctional Facility in New York who spokeout to expose the brutal murder of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi at the hands of Correctional Officers on March 2nd. A group of correctional officers viciously beat Nantwi to death. After removing Nantwi from the room, COs made his bunkmate mop up the blood.
One of several inmates who testified to the murder said to press:
“MESSIAH WAS BEATEN… THERE WAS A SERGEANT THERE WHO TURNED HIS BACK SO THE BODY CAMERA WOULD NOT CATCH IT, AND THERE WAS SIX, ROUGHLY SIX, NATIONAL GUARDS, LIKE KEEPING WATCH, BEING THE STAKEOUT OUTSIDE OF THE ROOM.”
Rodney Richards, a witness who reported the murder to press, said Nantwi was “not recognizable.” Michael Hummel-Parker thought it sounded like Nantwi couldn’t breathe as he was being dragged out of the room. It wasn’t until he was in a parking lot that staff started performing CPR.
COs regularly retaliate against prisoners who report abuses and mistreatment. Despite this, inmates chose to publicly come forward about the killing. Dare to Struggle wrote these inmates letters of support and encouragement. We received letters back, including drawings of the scene of Messiah’s murder. M Cleaver, artist and inmate wrote:
“Here are a couple of drafts of pictures I drew. DO NOT LOSE. Please share… This is WAR.“
From our time working with families and inmates at Cook County Jail, we hear a lot of the time that people don’t want speak up about injustices they see or experience in fear of very real retaliation they could face. We asked these inmates why they came forward. Here are some of their replies:
“Why is it an important risk? Because it needs to be stopped and fixed. It needs to be brought to the light how broken this corrupt system is. Anyone of us could be [Robert] Brooks or Messiah. They [Correctional Officers] think they’re above the law.”
“There is no rehabilitation in this system. What there is is a normalization of brutality and violence. This is the upside-down kingdom.”
“My advice to all those who are too scared to speak up, well you should have kept that ass in Church. It’s too late to be scared.“
“Thank you for reaching out and letting me know I’m not alone!”
We continue to encourage people to write to those on the inside who have spoken out, thanking them for their bravery, and demanding an end to the torture. We hope that for those who are scared to speak out and expose the system can look to these inmates as a source of inspiration. Dare to Struggle is committed to joining you and supporting you however we can. Join us.
Dare to Struggle 