6/23/16
by News Department on 06/23/16Frein attorneys argue over death penalty...
A Pike County judge denied two motions that sought to bar prosecutors from seeking a death sentence for accused cop killer 33 year old Eric Matthew Frein.
Attorneys for Frein argued the death penalty is unconstitutional on several grounds. Judge Gregory Chelak rejected arguments, noting many of the issues have been addressed previously by appellate courts that upheld the statute’s constitutionality.
Frein is charged with first-degree murder and multiple other offenses for the Sept. 12, 2014, sniper attack outside the state police barracks in Blooming Grove that killed Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II and wounded Trooper Alex T. Douglass.
Should Frein be convicted of first-degree murder, a separate hearing will be held in which jurors will evaluate aggravating circumstances.
To impose death, a jury must agree unanimously that the aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating circumstances.
Frein pleaded not guilty and remains incarcerated at the Pike County jail pending trial, which has not been scheduled yet.
