State AG’s Office Argues to Uphold Death Sentence of Convicted Murderer Benny Lee Hodge

The state Attorney General’s Office has argued to uphold the death sentence of a man convicted of murder in Letcher County in 1985.

Benny Lee Hodge was convicted of killing Tammy Acker and attacking her father at their home.

Prosecutors say Hodge and another man had posed as FBI agents to enter the home of Roscoe Acker.

After forcing him to open his safe, they strangled him until he passed out and stabbed his daughter to death with a kitchen knife.

WYMT reports over the years Hodge has filed several appeals, the latest of which was this week in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Attorney General Russell Coleman’s team argued against it, saying he had his day in court 40 years ago. Hodge’s attorneys have claimed there were trial errors.