A Black Teen Died Over a $12 Shoplifting Attempt. 13 Years Later, Two Men Plead Guilty in His Killing.

[erronis]

https://www.propublica.org/article/corey-stingley-felony-murder-plea-deal-milwaukee

16-year-old Corey Stingley died from asphyxiation after being pinned down by customers in a convenience store. Under a special agreement, the family of the teen finally feels that “truth, understanding and a measure of healing” has taken place.

A judge in Milwaukee brought a 13-year quest for justice by a grieving father to a close on Thursday, accepting a plea deal for two men charged criminally for their role in the killing of his teenaged son.

Robert W. Beringer and Jesse R. Cole pleaded guilty to felony murder under a deferred prosecution agreement that allows them to avoid jail time yet publicly stand accountable for their actions leading to the 2012 death of Corey Stingley. The men helped restrain the 16-year-old inside a convenience store after an attempted shoplifting incident involving $12 worth 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.

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Ozanne, who was appointed in 2022 to review the case, recommended the agreement after the two men and the Stingley family engaged in an extensive restorative justice process, in which they sat face to face, under the supervision of a retired judge, and shared their thoughts and feelings. Ozanne said in the letter that the process “appears to have been healing for all involved.”

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