State of Utah v. Mark Hacking

Today was pretty slow, so all the law clerks who where there went to go see Mark Hacking, the man who lied to his family about graduating from college and Medical School Admission...which lead to him murdering his wife Lori, get sentenced this afternoon.

It was a very intense, emotional proceeding, with Mark's brother's and sisters and mother and father pleaing for his life, whiping away tears. Some of them were still in denial how their brother had constructed an elaborate web of lies, including studying for college and applying and getting into medical school.

Mark himself got up and said that "It doesn't matter if I get life [in prision] or less...I guess I deserve [a] life [sentence]." He appologized to Lori's family. He also admitted for the first time that Lori was pregnant and that he was a de facto double murder under "Laci's Law" but now of course it was too late for the death penalty. "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.

Lori's mother and step-mother really laid it into Mark (her father was OK and another male relative talked too quietly to hear, only the judge's mike was working) rhetorically asking "Did you love her when you lied to her about medical school, costing her money she didn't have to fly out to your fake interviews?... Did you love her when you shot her in the back of the head while she was sleeping? Did you love her when you threw her body and that of her unborn child in garbage bags and tossed them in dumpsters? Did you love her when you told the world that she was missing while her body and her baby's body rotted in the city dump for 2 months?"

Lori's mother regailed us with all the things people had sent her, all the calls and letters, and emails she has gotten, how Mark has thrust her into the national and international spotlight. The tensest moment of the whole day came when she turned away from the judge and looked Mark dead into the eyes and asked, "How could you do that, Mark? How could you do that to me?" "I'm sorry," Hacking replied, dabbing his eyes.

The judge sentenced Hacking to the maximum 6 to life, but in reality he won't even see a parole board for 25-30 years. The judge will recommend that, which is pretty standard for 1st degree murders. In all likilhood, Hacking will never breathe free air.

It was an interesting experience to sit behind Salt Lake Tribune reporters and watch them fill their notebooks. Here's their version of what happened.