Some vile slayings aren't capital crimes

A man shooting his wife to death as she sleeps may be repulsive to envision, but it is not necessarily a capital crime that carries a possible death sentence.

On Monday, when the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office charged Mark Hacking with first-degree felony homicide, questions swirled about why Lori Hacking's suspected death wouldn't automatically land her husband on death row should he be found guilty of slaying her.

Prosecutors must resort to a laundry list of "aggravating" circumstances to prove the charge of aggravated murder — and that proof must be delivered beyond a reasonable doubt.

Several factors can bump a slaying into the arena of a capital offense:

• The murder was committed in conjunction with another serious felony — such as robbery, arson or sexual assault. Taberon Dave Honie remains on death row and faces execution for the 1998 slaying of his ex-girlfriend's mother. Honie slit the woman's throat with a knife, which prosecutors say he also used to sexually assault the victim.

• During the violence, two or more people are killed. Toan Hua of Ogden was charged with aggravated murder after he used an explosive concealed in a clock radio and killed his girlfriend and her mother. Hua became the first Utahn sentenced to life without parole in prison.

Kirk Torgensen, Utah Attorney General's Office chief deputy, said even with a conviction, a jury or judge ultimately determines if the crime merits the death penalty.

"To impose death, there has to be a finding that all the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt," he said. "Everything comes down to that."

Torgensen prosecuted Troy Michael Kell, who he calls the "poster case" for aggravated murder.

Kell was already in the state prison serving two consecutive life terms for murder when he was accused of stabbing another inmate 67 times. The aggravating factors: The suspect was already convicted of a serious violent offense; the heinous nature of the attack. Kell remains on death row.

• A murder can become a capital felony if done for personal gain. Paul Allen was convicted of aggravated murder for arranging the death of his wife, Jill. Prosecutors say Allen intended to collect on a $250,000 insurance policy.

Prosecutors, however, did not seek the death penalty. Jurors had two options: life without the possibility of parole or the chance of getting paroled someday. Allen got that chance.

---

E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com