Thursday, April 27, 2017

Justice

Given the circumstances of the case and the way the law is written, there could be no other outcome.

Eric Frein:  guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death.

The evidence for the first degree murder conviction, and the case for the death penalty were overwhelming.  The prosecution had written and taped confessions.  Mitigating factors during the penalty phase were weak, at best.  That's not the fault of the defense attorneys.  They did the best with what they had.  They didn't have a much.  A victory would have been keeping Eric Frein off death row.

There is an automatic appeal of death penalty cases.  Some legal experts believe errors were made during the trial.  We could go through this again.

I won't get in to a death penalty debate.  The death penalty is still on the books here in Pennsylvania.  An inmate hasn't been executed in two decades.  Governor Wolf is against the death penalty.  This will be a court and legislative battle for a long time to come.

There are still unanswered questions.  As I am fond of saying (not an original thought), a trial is not a search for the truth.  It is a judgement of evidence.

We know what Eric Frein did, beyond a reasonable doubt.  We don't know why.  The prosecution doesn't have to establish a motive.  It was shown Eric Frein didn't like authority and he favored a revolution.  Still, there has to be some reason why he chose those troopers, at that barracks, on that night.  I like to think we'll know some day.  Someone will talk, eventually.  It could be and should be Eric Frein.  Remember, there are laws that prohibit criminals from profiting from their acts.  He cannot sell his story.  He does owe everyone an explanation-- the police, the people who paid for the search and trial, the people who lived in fear during his weeks on the run...

Someone will talk, someday.

Until then, this is a book without a final chapter.