N.Y. Attorney General Recuses Herself in Case of Fatal Prison Beating

Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, said on Thursday that her office was recusing itself from the investigation it had opened into the fatal beating of a state prison inmate and that a special prosecutor would lead the inquiry instead.

Ms. James said in a video announcement that lawyers in her office were currently defending four of the 13 corrections officers implicated in the death of the man, Robert L. Brooks, in other matters.

In light of that, she said, she and her staff members had determined that recusal was necessary to ensure that the “mere appearance of a conflict” not “tie up a potential prosecution in lengthy legal challenges or get a potential prosecution outright dismissed.”

“I will not allow justice to be delayed or denied because of a conflict,” said Ms. James, who appointed William J. Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney, as special prosecutor in the matter.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Fitzpatrick’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment; nor did Elizabeth Mazur, a lawyer for Mr. Brooks’s family.

The attorney general’s office is empowered to investigate deaths stemming from encounters with law enforcement authorities, including corrections officers. The office also typically represents state workers in litigation connected to their official duties.