Comments about ‘Crime victim draws on her experience to help others’

this is such a story of human will! if they need funding then we need to fund this program because she is not alone! Left for dead by this guy certainly deserves more consideration to battle such people who try to demean all that the good people stand for! I can only imagine if this were my daughter. I hope he has it rough where he is at. What a strong person!

I remember that crime clearly. Why the perp was not excuted I will never know.

I remember this crime too. So sad.

Our justice system is geared to catching and prosecuting criminals, but sadly, too little is done for victims of crime and their families. As the article states, they are all too often left "out of the loop".

As saddening as this story is, so infuriating is it to think that our taxes now pay for the food and shelter for the creep who did this.

And, since some idiot somewhere didn't have the good sense to sentence him to be executed, we will all be paying it for the rest of his miserable life.

Yvette is a hero in the truest sense of the word. Thank you for the story Deseret News.

enjoy that special place in the underworld reserved just for you. and that you have the image of this courageous, brave and beautiful ms. rodier forever burned into your pathetic little brain. hope the thrill kill was worth it!

Not only did the judge not ensure that the victim's rights were respected, but the improper penalty was applied. This should have been a death penalty case. We need more hard-headed, empty-heart judges who put mothers with small children in jail and who really punish crime.

No. She's beautiful, and you're a loser.

I dated Yvette is high school and I can tell you she is not only beautiful but caring, sweet, and sincere. Bad things happen to good people. She is a testament to that. While some people may have let this horrific tragedy completely destroy their lives, she has chosen to use her experience to help others. My hat is off to you girl. You are one of my heroes.

Mr. Benvenuto wasn't sentenced to death because the DA offered to remove the death penalty in return for a guilty plea to aggravated murder and a stipulation that he would receive a sentence of life in prison without parole.

This was a great story! Thank you Yvette for letting the D-news share it with us.
I agree, this guy should be on death row with 2 days left...

That is precisely the problem. "2 days left..." after 13 years is way too long for Zach's family to have to endure the legal system. I don't blame Zach's family for having agreed to a plea bargain so that they wouldn't have to go through 13 years of court and appeals.

Thank you Yvette for sharing your story. God's blessings.

I forgot about this story, but reading it, I know remember how bad I felt for this young girl, Yvette. I am so glad that she has used this experience in a positive way. It is great that she is willing to share her story.

As for the justice system, my cousin was murdered in 1982, it was originally the death penalty, but some glitch happened years later. The guy that murdered my cousin and his attorney have played quite a few games with the system.

Murderers do not have any rights and they should pay the price for their action, the death penalty.

We miss you Zach, buddy. Way to go Yvette - so great to hear about your contributions to help other victims. Keep up the great work.

Thank you for sharing your story. I can relate because I was a victim of a random shooting at a Wells Fargo ATM in Fountain Valley, California, on May 8th, 1993. I was shot in the head, but the great Lord gave me a second chance. I went on to become a court reporter; however, when the attorneys found out that I was SHOT IN THE HEAD, they all questioned my competency. The attorneys that lost their case tried to use me as a scape goat to retry the case. Then, as an independent contractor, my phone stopped ringing. That was the end of my career as a court reporter. I still get migraines, vertigo, and still have PTSD, but I am now working on getting a company started that will make an application that will help brain injured individuals, post surgery. Thanks again. I'm sorry to hear you also are a victim of a random shooting. I empathize with you.
Elizabeth Shea