CNY Inmate Indicted for Punch That Killed Fellow Inmate

Charges are being filed in the death of an inmate from the Central New York Psychiatric Center who died after he was punched in the head by another inmate.

Authorities say the November 2021 fight stemmed from a dispute over a saltshaker.

According to New York State Police, inmate Terance Blackman punched fellow inmate Anthony Diaz in the head following the disagreement at the CNY Psychiatric Center in Marcy. Diaz would later be hospitalized from the blow and ultimately died from the injury, police said.

The 37-year-old man's death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy, state police officials said.

The case was recently presented to an Oneida County Grand Jury, which then indicted Blackman on a charge of Criminally Negligent Homicide, a class E felony. Troopers also say Blackman was indicted on additional charges of Assault in the second degree and Assault in the third degree for a separate alleged incident that resulted in the injury of a facility staffer, troopers said. That incident occurred several days after the altercation that led to Diaz's death.

Blackman, 27, who was in custody on another unrelated case at Elmira Correctional Facility, was transported back to Oneida County to be arraigned on the charges, state police said.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE:   This post is for informational purposes only. Any charges or accusations of wrongdoing mentioned in the article are only allegations and the reader is reminded that all persons are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.]