May 03, 2015
Pennsylvania State Police /AP
Cpl. Byron Dickson. Dickson was killed as he left the barracks in Blooming Grove, Pennsylvania on September 12, 2014.
The parents of a Pennsylvania state trooper who was slain in an ambush last September say they have forgiven their son's alleged killer, Eric Frein, who faces charges of first-degree murder and terrorism for which prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Bryon and Darla Dickson appeared at a church in the Pocono Mountains region on Sunday and said that forgiving Frein has helped them move on from the tragedy, according to a report from NBC 10.
"It doesn't do you any good to hate somebody for whatever they have done to you, because all it does is eat you up. And in the end, what does it do for you? Absolutely nothing," said Bryon Dickson, whose son, Corporal Bryon Dickson II, was one of two troopers targeted in the September 12, 2014 ambush.
Frein evaded a search force for 48 days in the woods before he was caught outside an abandoned airplane hangar about 30 miles from the police barracks where he is alleged to have shot Dickson and Trooper Alex Douglass.
Douglass, who survived the ambush and has since required 16 surgeries to recover from his injuries, announced in March that he would like to resume his duties as a Pennsylvania trooper.
Darla Dickson addressed the congregation on Sunday and recounted the moment, around 2:30 a.m. on September 13, when she received the news of her son's death. After the service, she told the Associated Press that she would accept the outcome of Frein's trial whatever it may be, whether it's the death penalty or life in prison.
Not keeping a record of wrongdoing gives you hope for tomorrow, a sense of love that displaces all evil in the world," Dickson said, adding that her focus is not on Frein but on her son's wife and two young children left to carry on after the loss of Dickson, a former Marine, at age 38.
Frein, a survivalist with anti-government leanings, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The Dicksons' appearance at the service came as the church celebrated "Blue Sunday" as a tribute to law enforcement. Led by pastor David Crosby Jr., the congregation also prayed for "healing and restoration" in Baltimore following civil unrest and charges against six officers in the death of Freddie Gray.
Although the trial for Frein had been scheduled for March, it is unlikely to begin until 2016, according to Frein's attorney, Michael Weinstein, who has suggested there may be a request for a change of venue outside of Pennsylvania.
