TURKEYS
When a case comes along as heinous as the September 2014 ambush of Pennsylvania state troopers in the Poconos, prosecutors justifiably seek the maximum punishment for the perpetrator. They got it for Eric Frein, the gunman in that ambush that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and wounded Trooper Alex Douglass. Frein now sits on death row, but it seems as if the Pike County District Attorney’s Office wants more in the name of justice despite the fact that Frein acted alone. The office has been involved in a lengthy court battle to keep a cache of guns seized from Frein’s parents. The parents, who were not charged in their son’s crime, have been trying to get the guns back – 25 rifles, 19 pistols and two shotguns, none of which were used in the ambush. The office has fought against their return, citing that they might be needed as evidence during Frein’s state and federal appeals. That’s nonsense, and a federal court of appeals appropriately ruled last week that the guns need to be returned to the parents. “It’s really the government being vindictive,” the Freins’ attorney told The Associated Press, adding they were “punished for being the parents of Eric Frein.” We agree. This appears to be the action of an overzealous prosecution that is bent on punishing the parents because it provides an added degree of satisfaction. Here’s the thing: Satisfaction is likely unachievable for the victims in a case like this. The achievable outcome is justice, and it’s been served with the harshest penalty allowed by law. It’s past time for the Pike County District Attorney’s Office to move away from seeking vengeance and focus its attention on providing support for the survivors of this atrocity.