Protesters hold up signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice for Robert Brooks” days after a disturbing video of the Black inmate’s fatal beating in New York

Brooks was more than his charges. He was a beloved son, a cherished family member, and a man with a future. His family should have been celebrating his return and the possibility of a new beginning. Instead, they now mourn his death, burying him during the holidays, their joy stolen by a haunting injustice.