After 13 years, a family’s quest for justice in the killing of 16-year-old Corey Stingley has ended with two guilty pleas by way of a restorative justice resolution.
A Milwaukee judge accepted a plea deal earlier this month, allowing Robert W. Beringer and Jesse R. Cole to plead guilty to felony murder without serving jail time for their roles in Stingley’s death, ProPublica reported. The men, along with a third who died in 2022, restrained Stingley during a shoplifting incident involving a $12 bottle of alcohol.
“What happened to Corey Stingley should have never happened. His death was unnecessary, brutal, and devastating,” Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne told the judge in a letter filed with the court.
The Stingley case unfolded over more than a year of discussions. Former Milwaukee County Chief Judge Mary Triggiano, who leads Marquette University Law School’s Andrew Center for Restorative Justice, said the process reshapes how cases are resolved by requiring an outcome both sides agree to.
“Restorative justice is not for everyone. It is voluntary on both parts,” Triggiano said.
As part of the deal, Cole and Beringer must each donate $500 to a charity selected by the Stingley family. If they remain law-abiding for six months, the case will be dismissed. The deferred prosecution agreement was approved by Stingley’s family, whose parents spoke directly to the judge during an emotional hour-long hearing attended by relatives, community activists, faith leaders, and former classmates.
“Corey was my baby. A mother is not supposed to bury her child,” Alicia Stingley told the judge.
After the hearing, Corey Stingley’s mother embraced Beringer, while the family’s surviving son, Cameron, shook hands with both men. During the proceedings, Corey’s father, Craig Stingley, said his 13-year fight for justice “has turned into triumph.”
“After a situation, a tragedy, you want–you want somebody to pay for it,” he said. “I don’t think we really understand what that means until some time has gone away, and that loved one you had – you start to understand that’s not going to bring them back, but it will damage you.”
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