Former Mid-State CO takes plea-deal for Manslaughter in Oneida County Court

UTICA- A former Correctional Officer from the Mid-State facility appeared in Oneida County Court on Monday and took a plea-deal concerning the death of an inmate last-year.

Caleb Blair was moments away from going on trial for murder in the second-degree, manslaughter and gang assault in the first-degrees, gang assault in the second-degree, conspiracy in the fifth-degree and falsifying business records in the first-degree.

These charges were all correlated to the fatal beating of the late Messiah Nantwi, who was an inmate housed at Mid-State in early March, 2025.

However according to the latest reports from several news sources, Blair took a plea deal for manslaughter in the first-degree, which carries 11-years behind bars.

While in court before the jury selection, Blair admitted that it was his boot print on Nantwi’s forehead.

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