Two months before Lori Soares Hacking was murdered by her husband, Mark Hacking, the young couple went to California to visit Lori's father.

Talking over a Diet Coke, Eraldo Soares said they discussed Utah's laws as being lenient, depending on the concept of forgiveness and how "naive" Utahns were to be so lenient in their laws.

Fast forward to when Mark Hacking was sentenced for his wife's murder: Soares and many across the nation were stunned by Hacking's sentence of five years to life in prison.

The prospect, however unlikely, that Hacking could be released from prison in as little as five years upset Soares.

"How can my daughter's life be only worth five years?" he asked members of the House Judiciary Standing Committee, which endorsed a bill increasing the minimum sentence for first-degree felony murder.

Although state statistics show that most people convicted of murder serve at least 20 years, the appearance that Utah is soft on murderers was talked about during a House committee hearing at the state Capitol Wednesday.

"It is true that perception is reality and we have a perception problem," said Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, who is the sponsor of HB102, which has come to be known as "Lori's Bill" at the Capitol.

The bill essentially bumps the minimum-mandatory for murder in Utah from five years to 15 years, meaning those convicted of murder would not be eligible for their first parole hearing until they serve the first 15 mandatory years.

Speaking in support of HB102, Soares said loved ones of murder victims need to be spared the shock and grief that his family went through, knowing that every five years Hacking could get out of prison.

The bill has gained support from several groups, including the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, the Utah Sentencing Commission and the Utah Domestic Violence Council.

The bill also adds an enhancement if the person convicted of murder held a position of trust with the victim, such as a spouse or parent. It also adds homicide caused by firing from a vehicle to a long list of offenses that qualify for first-degree murder.

Speaking for the Utah Domestic Violence Council, Stewart Ralphs said last year 33 homicides were caused by domestic violence. Ralphs said the bill would be a proactive step toward combating domestic violence.

Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, said the bill does preserve the state Board of Pardons' right to release an inmate before the 15-year mandatory but only in very special circumstances, such as if a higher federal sentence is imposed or if the inmate is in such failing health as to warrant transfer to a care facility.

Committee members voted unanimously to support the bill. "Lori's Bill" will now head to the House floor for debate and a vote before it is sent to the Senate.

Outside the hearing, Soares, who traveled from California to testify, said he felt hundreds of Utahns did so much to support his family during their search for his daughter. After three months of searching for her, police located her remains in the Salt Lake Valley landfill.

"This is my gift that I wanted to leave to Utah," he said. As for his former son-in-law, "He should rot in jail," Soares said.

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