Defence: Emotional testimony by cop’s widow unfair to killer

MILFORD, Pa. – Defence attorneys say emotional testimony by a Pennsylvania state trooper’s widow was unfair to his killer and the death penalty imposed in his case should be overturned.

The motion filed Wednesday is the first by the defence since sniper Eric Frein (freen) was convicted last month in the 2014 murder of Cpl. Bryon Dickson II outside the Blooming Grove barracks. Trooper Alex Douglass was also wounded by Frein, who was caught after a 48-day manhunt.

Frein’s attorneys say Tiffany Dickson’s emotional testimony overrode any “logical reasoned moral decision the jury could make” to spare Frein’s life.

The attorneys want a new sentencing hearing with stricter limits on victim impact testimony.

Frein didn’t testify in his trial’s penalty phase because his lawyers feared he might try to “rationalize” the ambush.