Experts Discuss Mark Hacking's Alleged Behavior

Why do people lie as hacking did?
Experts distinguish between those who know they are lying and those who don't. "People with disassociate disorders, sometimes in a manic state, really believe they are different people in different contexts," Dr. Robert Galatzer-Levy a psychoanalyst, who often serves as an expert witness. “Psychopaths, or con artists, are extremely good at convincing others. They aren’t worried about anything.” When a person lies deliberately, the range of motives includes “a desire to stand out, to be interesting and noticed, to receive the respect and adoration of others,” says psychotherapist Robi Ludwig, a Court TV commentator. “Sometimes that person feels he can’t live up to everybody’s expectations.”

Could the seizure that attended Hacking’s 1997 head injury account for his alleged violence?
“It is rare for brain injury to cause psychiatric issues,” says Galatzer-Levy. But, “head injuries that create organic damage to the brain can cause dramatic personality changes,” says David Camp, a criminologist. “Normally, the people around the injured identify these changes quite quickly.”

Does Hacking have a good shot at an insanity defense?
An insanity plea in this case would depend on whether the prosecution can prove that Hacking knew what he was doing. “If he had a psychotic break, it happened quickly, without an escape plan,” says Camp. “This seems as if he set it up, planned it ahead.” Galatzer-Levy counters, “it’s hard to feign psychiatric illness,” but cautions that insanity pleas rarely work.

From the August 16, 2004 edition of People Magazine by Bill Hewitt, Champ Clark, Carolyn Campbell, Cathy Free, Barbara Sandler, Lori Rozsa and Hope Hamashige.