By  Seamus McGraw

August 24, 2006

advertisement

FARGO, N.D. (Crime Library) —  Even when it's over, it might be not be over.

In a move that underscores what has become the hallmark, if not the sum and total of their strategy, lawyers for the man accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering young co-ed Dru Sjodin on Wednesday asked the court to instruct jurors that an acquittal in federal court would, in all likelihood, not be the end of the case against their client.

In court papers filed Wednesday, lawyers for convicted sex offender and accused killer Alfonzo Rodriguez Jr. outlined their suggestions for the instructions jurors should be given before deliberating. Chief among them was the suggestion that jurors be told that even if they fail to convict the 53-year-old Crookston, Minn., ex-con, he still could face state charges in North Dakota in her kidnapping for up to three years, and could be charged and tried for her murder at any time because there is no statute of limitations on that crime.

Alfonzo Rodriguez, Jr.

While the proposed instructions may seem tepid, innocuous and perhaps to some, even odd, they underscore what may be the defense's best hope of sparing Rodriguez the death penalty. Under federal law, jurors are not permitted to consider a possible sentence when deliberating on a verdict. Sentencing is considered in a separate legal proceeding.

But Rodriguez' defense attorneys seem to be hoping that at least some of those jurors will overlook that prohibition, and perhaps vote for acquittal in the hopes that the case will be taken up by authorities in North Dakota, where, if convicted, Rodriguez would face less-severe penalties.

Next Page

Dru Sjodin Full Coverage & Breaking News

Dru Sjodin Feature Story

See Discussion Forum

For more daily crime news