MILWAUKEE — After more than a decade of searching for justice, Craig Stingley and his family found closure through an unconventional path following his 16-year-old son's death in 2012.
Corey Stingley died after allegedly attempting to steal alcohol from a West Allis store. Jesse Cole and Robert Beringer held the teenager down until police arrived, which led to his asphyxiation and death.
After 13 years, the District Attorney's office pursued the case. Cole and Beringer pleaded guilty to homicide but won't face jail time. Instead, the resolution came through restorative justice facilitated at Marquette Law School's Andrew Center for Restorative Justice.
RELATED | Men plead guilty in teen's 2012 death in West Allis after restorative justice process
"A system that I believe was broken has begun to repair itself," Stingley said from the courthouse.
The Andrew Center, directed by former Chief Judge Mary Triggiano, focuses on healing for both victims and perpetrators rather than traditional punishment.
Watch: Members of the Andrew Center for Restorative Justice discuss how healing was found in Corey Stingley Murder
"The traditional system of justice often asks what law was broken, who broke it, and how do we punish. In general, restorative justice asks who's been harmed," Triggiano said.
In 2024, conversations began between all parties, centering the trauma and working towards reconciliation. The process involved students like Silas Petrie and Sam Medina-Conchi.
"I can't imagine the courage that it took for them to even be open to starting the process. It's very admirable," Petrie said.
Medina-Conchi described how the process changed his perspective on the defendants, as he grew up in Milwaukee and remembered the case over a decade ago.
"They were monsters, and now they're human, which speaks to the process even for us as facilitators," Medina-Conchi said.
Because of the restorative justice process, the charges will be dismissed with prejudice in six months.
Triggiano addressed potential skepticism about the approach.
"I would say restorative justice can be much more demanding than going through the traditional system of justice. As an offender, you don't just get to go and plead guilty and talk to the judge, you have to actually face the person you've harmed," Triggiano said.
Medina-Conchi noted the significance of the outcome for the Stingley family.
"I think it's also safe to say, without a sort of justice, the Stingley family may have never received any kind of justice," Medina-Conchi said.
After court, Stingley said this resolution was what was best for his family.
"The easy thing would be to go after someone that does something to you to think that that's going to make a difference, and it doesn't," Stingley told reporters on January 15.
The Andrew Center continues its work with juvenile justice, reckless driving, and gun violence cases in Milwaukee.
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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