ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997           TAG: 9702120083
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 

LILLY SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR '95 MURDER

LENGTH: Short :   23 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  GENE DALTON. 1. Benjamin Lee Lilly (right) proclaimed 
          his innocence in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Tuesday just 
          before Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs sentenced the Riner man to death for
          murdering a Virginia Tech student in 1995. The judge imposed the 
          sentence recommended by a jury after an October trial. Lilly, who 
          turns 29 next week, will likely spend the next several years on 
          death row appealing the decision. 2. Helen Lilly, Lilly's mother, 
          and Loretta Eanes, Lilly's wife as of late January, wept (top photo)
          as Grubbs imposed the death penalty. Eanes said her husband's 
          conviction was the result of an unfair trial. For details, see 
          today's front page. color.