6 Years for murder, WHAT???
Posted on June 7th, 2005 in General by tavaresforby ||
SALT LAKE CITY — A man who admitted shooting his wife in the head while she slept was sentenced to six years to life in prison Monday, bringing to a close the case of murder and deceit that shocked Utah last July.
Judge Denise Lindberg handed Mark Hacking (search) his sentence — the only penalty allowed by Utah state law — after hearing emotional statements from the family of his murdered wife Lori.
On Monday, Hacking said he had no excuse for his behavior and that he was willing to spend an eternity in jail if it was possible to amend for his crime.
“She didn’t do nothing but love me unconditionally, even when I didn’t deserve it. She was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, but I killed her, and took the life of my unborn child and put them in the garbage and I can’t explain whey I did it,” Hacking said in a halted voice when addressing the judge and family members.
“I put them in the garbage, and they rotted out at the landfill. I’m tormented every waking minute by what I did,” he said.
An autopsy of the badly decomposed body could not confirm that Lori Hacking was pregnant, as she had told friends, leaving the state unable to seek the death penalty.
Lori Hacking’s body was found three months later at a landfill.
After Lori went to bed, Mark Hacking stayed up late playing video games for an hour. Then, sorting through his belongings, he found his rifle, went into the bedroom and shot his wife, according to investigators.
He disposed of her body, the rifle and mattress in separate trash bins. And the next morning, he found time to shop for a new mattress while reporting his wife had not returned from an early morning jog.
Under Utah’s system of indeterminate criminal sentences, first-degree murder brings a mandatory five years to life, but Hacking’s minimum will be increased to six years because he used a firearm. The judge can only impose the broad range of sentence, leaving it up to Utah’s Board of Pardons and Parole to decide when or if Hacking will ever be set free.
Under Utah state system, you only get 5 years of prison for murder. WHAT?!?!?! What kind of state is this? I know Scott Peterson wished he lived in Utah, or at least wished he did his wrong doings there. Do you see what kind of message this is sending to the world, “Uh, if I want to kill my significant other, maybe I should do it in Utah? If I get caught, I will only do five years….” Moral of the story: If your significant other offers a trip to Utah, SAY NO!!!! Especially if you are a woman and pregnant.
June 7th, 2005 at 3:17 pm
Actual, Scott Peterson would qualify for death penalty in Utah. The article mentions that the state can not sick the death penalty because they can not comfirm that the wife was pregnant.
“An autopsy of the badly decomposed body could not confirm that Lori Hacking was pregnant, as she had told friends, leaving the state unable to seek the death penalty.”
My 2 cents. ;o)
June 10th, 2005 at 10:09 pm
Quote: “Under Utah state system, you only get 5 years of prison for murder.”
Wrong. You get 5 TO LIFE… there is a huge difference!
Before you get yourself all worked up with mock outrage,
it would be good to track down the statistics on actual
time served in Utah… what percent served only 5 years?
10 years? 15 years? etc. If a nontrivial amount were
serving under 10 years, that would warrent outrage…
otherwise you’re just jumping to conclusions
and your tirade is premature.
June 11th, 2005 at 6:18 am
The statement 5-life is rediculous, the judge applies the sentence according to Utah law
and then he washes his hands of the whole mess. The Board of pardons and parole have the
burden of keeping this creep locked-up.
The sentence is a joke. You can defend Utahs system all you want but Pre-meditated Murder should
automatically get the Death penalty. This is a travestry and a perversion of justice.
July 7th, 2005 at 9:59 pm
You’re doing a lot of huffing and blowing, and it’s your blog, so that’s okay. But, you still didn’t look up any stats for actual time served by murderers in Utah. I’m going to make an educated guess, as an ex-Mormon, that this man will not see the light of day for many, many years. Utah is a predominately Mormon state, and Mormons are notoriously conservative. The sentencing guidelines may seem too lightweight, but I have a hunch that Hacking is going to be locked up a LONG time.
July 7th, 2005 at 10:02 pm
I just wanted to add that I think the sentencing guidelines are loose to allow the Pardons and Parole board to keep murderers locked up indefinitely. If they don’t put a maximum limit on the prison sentence, they get to let criminals out when they get good and ready - if ever that time comes, LoL.
July 20th, 2005 at 9:10 am
President Bush did us good yesterday, conservatives can all be proud today. From what I can find on John G. Roberts, Bush stood by his word. I hope there is no leftward shift aka the Justice Souter Effect.
We need to all watch out for the Justice Souter Effect, but right now John Roberts seem like a true conservative and we all should back him.
I trust we will see another real conservative if Pres. Bush get to appoint another justice to the court. And finally change the pro-abortion leftwing anti-business position of the super legislator socialist court. Continue the Reagan Progress!