Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 10, 2006 8:30:42 GMT -5
Death penalty phase of Rodriguez begins this week
By DAVE KOLPACK
Associated Press Writer
FARGO - Government witnesses in the trial of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. so far have outnumbered the defense by 55-to-1. That is likely to change this week, with mental health experts, family members and perhaps Rodriguez himself testifying to try to spare his life.
Jurors will hear another phase of testimony and attorneys' arguments before deciding whether Rodriguez, 53, of Crookston, Minn., should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole for the death of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin.
The jury of seven women and five men ruled last week that Rodriguez was eligible for the death penalty based on a number of criteria. Jurors found that Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., was tortured and died during a kidnapping.
They also found that three other women - two in 1974 an one in 1980 - suffered serious injuries during attacks by Rodriguez.
"I'd always expected that the government would be able to prove at least a couple of aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt," said David Lillehaug, former U.S. attorney from Minnesota who has followed the case. "The defense will have to mount a pretty powerful case of leniency to avoid the death penalty."
Rodriguez's lawyers indicated during jury selection that they will attempt to show he was sexually abused as a child, was exposed to harmful chemicals and suffers from psychological problems.
During the guilt phase of the trial, they called only one witness, a forensic science professor from California. Government witnesses included law enforcement officers and people who had last seen or spoken with Sjodin.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson ruled Friday that friends and family of Rodriguez would be allowed to talk during the sentencing phase about their experiences with him and how they would feel if his life is spared.
The judge said he will not allow emotional pleas to the jury, including expressions of love or affection for Rodriguez, or opinions about a possible sentence.
"The court will take the same approach to testimony from defendant's family members that it will take with respect to victim impact testimony," the judge wrote.
Sjodin's parents are expected to be among those testifying for the prosecution.
Sjodin disappeared from the parking lot of a Grand Forks shopping mall on Nov. 22, 2003.
Prosecutors said she was beaten, raped, stabbed and left to die in the ravine near Crookston where her body was found the following April.
Prosecutors have filed a motion to prevent Rodriguez from giving an unsworn statement to jurors without cross-examination. Erickson is expected to rule on that motion before the jury reconvenes on Monday afternoon.
North Dakota does not have the death penalty, but it is allowed in federal cases. Historians say North Dakota's last legal execution was a hanging in October 1905.
The last man known to receive a death sentence in the state was spared in 1915, when the Legislature restricted the death penalty to cases involving someone already in prison for murder. A revision of criminal laws in the 1970s abolished it.
www.bismarcktribune.com
By DAVE KOLPACK
Associated Press Writer
FARGO - Government witnesses in the trial of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. so far have outnumbered the defense by 55-to-1. That is likely to change this week, with mental health experts, family members and perhaps Rodriguez himself testifying to try to spare his life.
Jurors will hear another phase of testimony and attorneys' arguments before deciding whether Rodriguez, 53, of Crookston, Minn., should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole for the death of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin.
The jury of seven women and five men ruled last week that Rodriguez was eligible for the death penalty based on a number of criteria. Jurors found that Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., was tortured and died during a kidnapping.
They also found that three other women - two in 1974 an one in 1980 - suffered serious injuries during attacks by Rodriguez.
"I'd always expected that the government would be able to prove at least a couple of aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt," said David Lillehaug, former U.S. attorney from Minnesota who has followed the case. "The defense will have to mount a pretty powerful case of leniency to avoid the death penalty."
Rodriguez's lawyers indicated during jury selection that they will attempt to show he was sexually abused as a child, was exposed to harmful chemicals and suffers from psychological problems.
During the guilt phase of the trial, they called only one witness, a forensic science professor from California. Government witnesses included law enforcement officers and people who had last seen or spoken with Sjodin.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson ruled Friday that friends and family of Rodriguez would be allowed to talk during the sentencing phase about their experiences with him and how they would feel if his life is spared.
The judge said he will not allow emotional pleas to the jury, including expressions of love or affection for Rodriguez, or opinions about a possible sentence.
"The court will take the same approach to testimony from defendant's family members that it will take with respect to victim impact testimony," the judge wrote.
Sjodin's parents are expected to be among those testifying for the prosecution.
Sjodin disappeared from the parking lot of a Grand Forks shopping mall on Nov. 22, 2003.
Prosecutors said she was beaten, raped, stabbed and left to die in the ravine near Crookston where her body was found the following April.
Prosecutors have filed a motion to prevent Rodriguez from giving an unsworn statement to jurors without cross-examination. Erickson is expected to rule on that motion before the jury reconvenes on Monday afternoon.
North Dakota does not have the death penalty, but it is allowed in federal cases. Historians say North Dakota's last legal execution was a hanging in October 1905.
The last man known to receive a death sentence in the state was spared in 1915, when the Legislature restricted the death penalty to cases involving someone already in prison for murder. A revision of criminal laws in the 1970s abolished it.
www.bismarcktribune.com