MILFORD -- Attorneys for accused cop killer Eric Frein are trying to get evidence against him thrown out and trying to get the death penalty off the table.
Defense lawyers filed motions this week in Pike County.
Frein's attorneys argue that state police violated his constitutional rights the night they interrogated him for four hours after he was captured.
They are also asking for the death penalty to be tossed out while prosecutors still very much intend to push for a death sentence.
Troopers rushed Eric Frein into the state police barracks in Blooming Grove in late October 2014. Frein was captured after a 48-day manhunt, accused of an attack on the very same barracks that left one trooper dead and another badly hurt.
Now in court papers, Frein's attorneys argue that troopers violated his constitutional rights by interrogating Frein for hours, even after he said he didn't want to talk about the crime.
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"The question of whether or not any confessions obtained, statements obtained, were obtained within the guidelines of the Constitution," said Frein's attorney Michael Weinstein.
Weinstein wants a judge to throw out the statements Frein made confessing to the sniper attack at the barracks. During that time, the defense says troopers called Frein, "Buddy," then skillfully and unlawfully extorted a confession.
The defense also says Frein was denied his right to an attorney, after troopers refused to let a family-hired attorney see Frein the night of his capture.
"It will have to be determined exactly who Mr. Swetz represented at the time," said Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin.
Tonkin plans to file a response to the defense motions as both sides prepare for trial. Those motions include one in which the defense asks a judge to rule out the death penalty.
"The governor's moratorium supports our position. There's a concern about the constitutionality of the death penalty," said Weinstein.
"I am not aware of where the governor can indicate in a case that's pending trial that the death penalty is not an available option since it remains the law of Pennsylvania," said Tonkin.
Before Frein can go to trial, these new arguments from the defense have to be resolved in Pike County Court.
There is no word when a judge might make a ruling, but before that can happen, prosecutors will have a chance to respond.