Ex-prison officer charged in death of psychiatric patient in New Hampshire

By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A former corrections officer has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a patient at New Hampshire’s prison psychiatric unit nine months ago. Thirty-nine-year-old Matthew Millar, of Boscawen, is accused of kneeling on Jason Rothe’s torso and neck for several minutes on April 29 while Rothe was face-down and handcuffed in the secure psychiatric unit at the state prison in Concord. Millar made an initial appearance Thursday in court, where his attorney said he intends to plead not guilty. He was ordered held without bail pending a hearing Feb. 14. Rothe, who was 50, had been committed to the state psychiatric hospital in 2019 and transferred to the prison unit in 2022. The housing of such civilly committed patients in the prison has long sparked protest.