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NH Corrections Dept. says it did not complete internal review after death, revising earlier statement

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2 years ago

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NH Corrections Dept. says it did not complete internal review after death, revising earlier statement


In the week since a former prison guard was charged with second-degree murder, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections has given conflicting statements about its internal review of the incident.

The former corrections officer, Matthew Millar of Boscawen, is accused of causing the April 29, 2023 death of Jason Rothe, who was a patient at the state prison system’s Secure Psychiatric Unit at the time. Prosecutors allege Millar knelt on Rothe’s back for several minutes while restraining him face-down, causing him to asphyxiate.

In a statement last week, the Department of Corrections said it had cleared Millar to return to duty last year after reviewing his actions, along with those of several other officers involved in the confrontation that led to Rothe’s death.

“Following the completion of the Department’s administrative review, the officers were returned to full duty based on information available to the department at that time,” the department said in the Feb. 8 statement. “Based on new information made available to the department today, [Department of Corrections] Commissioner [Helen] Hanks has directed another administrative review and placed the officers on administrative leave.”

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The Department of Corrections now says it never completed an internal review last year, but rather halted that process once it learned the New Hampshire Department of Justice was investigating Rothe’s death.

Jane Graham, a spokesperson, said that was “so as not to impede the Attorney General’s Office investigation.”

Graham also said the officers were initially placed on administrative leave, then served in “non-direct alternative posts without contact with residents” before eventually returning to full duty.

“Looking back at our original statement, we shouldn’t have said that our administrative review was completed,” Graham said by email after a reporter asked about the inconsistent statements.

Millar’s employment with the Department of Corrections ended in mid-December 2023, according to its original statement. His attorney has said he intends to plead not guilty. Prosecutors say they do not intend to bring charges against any of the other officers involved in using force against Rothe.

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The Secure Psychiatric Unit sits on the grounds of the state prison in Concord. It houses both people serving sentences and people who have been civilly committed but can’t be treated safely at the state psychiatric hospital.

Rothe was civilly committed to the state hospital in 2019 because of a mental illness. He was transferred to the Secure Psychiatric Unit in 2022 due to concerns he could harm himself or others, according to court records filed by the attorney general’s office.

The confrontation that led to his death began when corrections officers tried to forcibly remove him from a day room, according to a summary of the investigation filed in court. The officer in charge during that shift later acknowledged to investigators that Department of Corrections policy called for a less aggressive response, as Rothe’s refusal to leave the room wasn’t putting anyone in danger.

Advocates have long criticized the state for sending people with mental illness who have not been convicted of crimes to an unaccredited psychiatric facility run by the state prison system. Officials say a new forensic hospital, slated to open next year, will bring an end to that practice.

This story has been updated to reflect the fact that the corrections officers eventually returned to full duty. That was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

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New Hampshire

Senate panel endorses reporting exemption for players on New Hampshire Fisher Cats

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52 minutes ago

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March 10, 2026

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Senate panel endorses reporting exemption for players on New Hampshire Fisher Cats





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New Hampshire

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

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13 hours ago

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March 10, 2026

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Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters


As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame. 

“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene. 

“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.

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“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said. 

He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.” 

Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with voters in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 7, 2026.

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Anne Bryson


For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.

“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.” 

Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.

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CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”

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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with political commentator Jack Cocchiarella at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 5, 2026.

Anne Bryson


Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.

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29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran. 

“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.

While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues. 

“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event, 

“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News. 

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action. 

“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said. 

Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.

“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.

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New Hampshire

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

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1 day ago

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March 9, 2026

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Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.


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Police say the Attleboro man was driving 104 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 202 near in Rindge, New Hampshire.

A Massachusetts man was arrested late Wednesday night after police say he was driving more than 100 mph on a New Hampshire roadway. 

Officers with the Rindge Police Department stopped a vehicle shortly after 11 p.m. on Route 202 near Sears Drive in Rindge following a report of a car traveling at excessive speed, according to a statement from Chief Rachel Malynowski. 

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The vehicle, a 2020 Kia Stinger, was spotted traveling at 104 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, Malynowski said. 

The driver, a 21-year-old man from Attleboro, was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to police. 

He is scheduled to be arraigned April 5. If convicted, the man faces a fine of at least $750, in addition to the court’s penalty assessment, and a 90-day license suspension, Malynowski said. 

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