Capital punishment was abolished in the U.S. state of North Dakota in 1973.
[Death Penalty Information Center]
/ref> Historically, a total of eight people have been executed in North Dakota, including one execution prior to North Dakota attaining statehood.
History
According to the North Dakota Penal Code, the imposing of sentences was handed to a jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England du ...
, with the suggested punishment for first-degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...
being death by hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...
or life imprisonment. Until 1903 executions were carried out in public. The first private execution was that of John Rooney, who was hanged inside the Cass County prison on October 17, 1905. Rooney was the last person executed in North Dakota. In 1915, the death penalty was abolished for ordinary murder, commuting the death sentence of Joe Milo, who was convicted of double murder in course of a robbery.murder of Dru Sjodin
Dru Katrina Sjodin (September 26, 1981 – November 22, 2003) was an American woman who was abducted from the Columbia Mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota, by Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., on November 22, 2003. Her disappearance and murder ...
and is now the only person on federal death row for a crime committed in North Dakota.[Haga, Chuck and Pam Louwagie.]
Rodriguez sentenced to die for killing Dru Sjodin
" ''Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
''. September 23, 2006. Retrieved on June 5, 2016. Because Rodriguez took Sjodin's corpse across state lines, he was eligible for federal prosecution, and therefore for the death penalty. U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson arranged that Rodriguez would be executed according to South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
rules. Rodriguez was the first person in North Dakota to receive a death sentence in over a century.[Lee, Steven J.]
From death row, Rodriguez discusses murder of Dru Sjodin
" ''Grand Forks Herald
The ''Grand Forks Herald'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, established in 1879, published in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It is the primary daily paper for northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Its average daily circulat ...
''. November 13, 2013. Retrieved on June 5, 2016.
See also
* List of people executed in North Dakota
* Crime in North Dakota
This article refers to crime in the U.S. state of North Dakota.
Statistics
In 2010 there were 13,558 crimes reported in North Dakota, including 10 murders.
In 2011 there were 15,033 crimes reported, including 24 murders.
In 2012 there were 16,0 ...
* Law of North Dakota The North Dakota Century Code is the collection of all the statutes passed by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly since the state's admission to the Union. It also includes the North Dakota Constitution.
The numbering system for the Century Code ...
References
External links
*Frank Vyzralek
Capital crimes and criminals executed in northern Dakota Territory and North Dakota, 1885–1905"
2000-10-19
{{CapPun-US
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...
North Dakota law