Judge will allow one Marcy officer to have independent trial next year, while three face jury next week

UTICA, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — An Oneida County judge has given Marcy correction officer Michael Fisher his own trial next year, instead of including him in next week’s trial of his three fellow officers.

Oneida County Judge Robert Bauer granted Fisher and his defense attorney more time to prepare, recognizing what the judge agreed was a change in theory by the prosecution.

Fisher’s attorney says the prosecutor is now treating his client as an accessory not a principal defendant in the deadly beating of inmate Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility. In other words, the prosecution is treating Fisher as having contributed to the crime, but not directly participating in it.

Fisher is charged with manslaughter as the top count.

Co-defendants Nicholas Kieffer, David Kingsley and Matthew