In the aftermath of the kidnapping and murder of University of North Dakota student and Minnesota native Dru Sojdin, U.S. attorneys from both states as well as religious figures are pushing for capital punishment in the case against accused killer Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.

If their requests are granted, Rodriguez’s death would be the first instance of capital punishment in North Dakota since 1903 and in Minnesota since 1906. That’s because capital punishment isn’t legal in either state, although it remains a possibility due to a loophole in state laws.

In cases in which victims cross state borders, as Sojdin did – being kidnapped in North Dakota and later found dead in Minnesota – it automatically is removed from the jurisdiction of either state and becomes a federal case.

Unfortunately, in what appears to be a continuing trend, the judge’s decision on the matter will be tainted by religious pressure to make the “moral” choice.

For many, including Rev. Bill Humiston and Rev. Mark Whittemore of Sojdin’s hometown, Pequot Lakes, the moral thing to do is to condemn Rodriguez to death.

It also appears as though public sentiment may take hold of this recommendation due to people’s attraction to this tragic story.

It plays out like the plotline of a Hollywood horror flick. A beautiful, blond, well-off, college-attending young woman is kidnapped in the parking lot outside Victoria’s Secret and murdered by a demented serial killer.

The story is alluring and pulls at heart-strings, but the judge should remain detached, respect the laws of North Dakota and Minnesota and sentence Sojdin’s killer to a lifetime in prison.

It would be far more understandable if one state endorsed capital punishment and the other did not, but that is not the case.

Sojdin is not the only young woman to be kidnapped and killed in Minnesota or North Dakota, and to do anything but treat her case like the others would be a great insult.

The death of a beautiful blond woman is not more tragic than a not-so-beautiful brunette.