Entire U.S. Sixth Circuit Delivers Justice 40 Years Later (Convicted Murder of Well-respected Jackson County Couple)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 8, 2025) - Attorney General Russell Coleman announced today a federal court denied the appeals of one of Eastern Kentucky's most notorious murderers and upheld his lawfully imposed capital sentence. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, following a special sitting from all 18 judges of the court, rejected the latest attempt from Benny Lee Hodge to escape justice.  Hodge was convicted by a jury in 1986 for the murder of Tammy Acker, 23, and attacking her father, Dr. Roscoe Acker, in Letcher County. This is the case that was before the U.S. Court of Appeals. 

However, Benny Hodge was also found guilty in the murder of a well-respected couple in Jackson County as well.

In the summer of 1985, Jackson County was floored by the news of a horrific crime that resulted in the deaths of two beloved members of our community. On June 16, 1985 Bessie and Edwin Morris were robbed and murdered in their Gray Hawk home at the hands of ruthless killers. Almost 40 years later, the family and friends of the Morris’ have continued to live a life of tortured memories while the wheels of justice slowly turn.  One of the men convicted of this murder was Benny Lee Hodge, 73, Kentucky State Penitentiary (the other man was Roger Epperson). Hodge was first tried, convicted and sentenced to death for these murders in 1987. However, the convictions were vacated on a confession of error by the Commonwealth, i.e., that the trial judge had not conducted individual voir dire (The process through which potential jurors from the venire are questioned by either the judge or a lawyer to determine their suitability for jury service) on the issue of pre-trial publicity. Nonetheless, on November 22, 1996, after another hearing, Hodge was ultimately given the death penalty for each of the Morris murders. 

In 1985, Hodge and an accomplice posed as FBI agents to enter Dr. Acker's home. Once inside, they tied up the victims, forced Dr. Acker to open his safe, strangled him until he lost consciousness and brutally stabbed his daughter, Tammy, at least 10 times using a kitchen knife.

After a three-judge panel overturned Hodge's sentence last year, General Coleman asked the entire appellate court to reconsider. In a rare move, all the judges of the Sixth Circuit agreed to rehear the case. In a 14-4 decision Wednesday, written by Kentucky's own Judge John Bush, the judges rejected Hodge's arguments and upheld his lawful sentence delivered by a Kentucky jury.

"For nearly four decades, this brutal murderer has tried to escape justice, hoping that we would eventually give up and forget about this case. We never forgot about this tragedy, about the Acker family and about the justice they were promised," said Attorney General Coleman. "Every Kentuckian will be safer when this convicted criminal faces his lawful sentence."

Since his conviction, Hodge has filed numerous appeals seeking to avoid punishment. In their opinion, the judges underscore the high costs of the delays. "The public suffers -- particularly surviving victims and loved ones -- when we allow previously convicted perpetrators of violent and deadly crimes to relitigate their convictions or sentences, or both, many years after the trial (in this case decades), after evidence has gone stale or been lost, and the percipient witnesses (like Dr. Acker) have died," the judges wrote.

Tawny Acker, Tammy's sister, expressed her relief at the result. "I want to thank Attorney General Russell Coleman and his staff for their excellent preparation and presentation to uphold the sentencing of a cold-blooded murderer before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals," said Ms. Acker. "They stood masterfully in the gap, defending justice and protecting the safety of my family and the safety of all families in the Commonwealth."

Kentucky Solicitor General Matt Kuhn presented the Commonwealth's case before the Sixth Circuit. Assistant Solicitor General Jacob Abrahamson also supported the Commonwealth's efforts. Erica Paske with the Attorney General's Office of Victims Advocacy provided services to the victim's family.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan) is an intermediate federal appellate court one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.