Prosecutors drop appeal in Sjodin killing but will still seek death penalty

FARGO (KVRR) – Federal prosecutors have suddenly dropped their appeal of a judge’s ruling in September that overturned the death sentence for Alfonso Rodriguez, the man convicted in the 2003 kidnapping and death of Dru Sjodin.

On March 3, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed documents stating that prosecutors intended to ask a federal appeals court to overturn Judge Ralph Erickson’s order in September that threw out the death penalty and ordered a new sentencing phase to be conducted.

Erickson, who presided over Rodriguez’s 2006 trial in Fargo, ruled that misleading testimony from the coroner, the failure of lawyers to outline the possibility of an insanity defense and evidence of severe PTSD violated Rodriguez’s rights.

Federal prosecutors say they still intend to seek the death penalty when Rodriguez is resentenced.

Rodriguez is on death row at a federal prison in Indiana.