Former Rochester Judge Dies

A funeral will be held Thursday in Rochester for a former longtime area judge. Gerard Ring died Friday at the age of 76. He was elected as a county judge in 1972 and was on the bench for 30 years, retiring in 2002 while assigned to Wabasha County.

He made national news in 1988 when he ruled against the prosecution’s request to move the David Brom murder case into adult court. Brom was 16 at the time of the killings. Ring’s ruling was later overturned and Brom was convicted the next year of killing his parents and two siblings and sentenced to life in prison.  He will be eligible for release when he turns 70.

Ring’s funeral will be held at St. Pius Church Thursday, beginning at 10:30.

Visitation will be held tomorrow from 4 - 7 p.m. at the Schleicher Funeral chapel in  Plainview.