Rodriguez Jr. sentence reduced to life in prison following ruling from Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

(Fargo, ND) -- The sentence for a Minnesota man convicted of killing a 22-year-old North Dakota college student is now reduced to life in prison.  

Initially, Alfonso Rodriguez Junior was sentenced to death in connection to the kidnapping, assault, and murder of Dru Sjodin in November of 2003.  The body of the University of North Dakota student was found five months after her murder in a ravine near Crookston, Minnesota.  After filing an official notice to seek the removal of the death penalty in March, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals officially reduced Rodriguez's sentence to life in prison as of last week.