A man who represented Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr. is speaking out about a federal jury's decision to give the Minnesota man the death penalty.

Kansas Lawyer Richard Ney says the sentence saddened, but did not surprise him.

He added that it would have been hard for jurors not to be influenced by the feelings of the community in such a high profile case.

And though he says he doesn't question any of the jurors who sentenced Rodriguez, he says he continues to struggle with how the government can support capital punishment.

On the other side, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley says the trial outcome was grounded in justice and demonstrates why the death penalty should be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Jurors sentenced Rodriguez after he was convicted for kidnapping and then killing University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin in 2003. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list