A Buffalo man has been charged with murdering his brother. Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced that the 24-year-old man was arraigned before Buffalo City Court Judge Kevin J. Keane on one count of Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

Jerome A. Cole of Buffalo allegedly intentionally caused the death of his brother on July 11, 2022, at approximately 1:30 am. He allegedly shot his brother with an illegal gun on Thatcher Avenue in Buffalo. The victim, 35-year-old Marcus Cole, was transported by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center where he later died. The District Attorney has not given any reason or motive for the shooting.

Cole is due to return to court on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at 9:30 am for a felony hearing. He is being held without bail. He is facing a maximum of 25 years to life behind bars if he is convicted of the highest charge against him.

DA Flynn thanked the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad for investigating this incident. Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Morgan of the Erie County Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case.

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

My thoughts are definitely with the family of these two men, not only did they lose a loved one, they may potentially lose another to prison.

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Here are some anti-gun violence organizations you can get involved in:

- Most Valuable Parents of Buffalo
- Buffalo Peacemakers
- Buffalo SNUG
- Stop the Violence Foundation

These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior.  According to the state,
"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."
  In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.

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