Menendez brothers appeal: Governor Gavin Newsom says decision on clemency will wait until new District Attorney Nathan Hochman reviews case

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The defense team of Erik and Lyle Menendez is currently pursuing at least three separate actions to try to get the brothers released.

One of those scenarios involves the governor asking for clemency.

But Governor Gavin Newsom made it clear Monday that option will have to wait.

The governor said Monday he wants to see what new Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman wants to do about the case before making his own decision on the possibility of clemency.

“The Governor respects the district attorney’s role in ensuring justice and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility,” said a statement from Newsom’s office. “The Governor will await the elected district attorney’s review and analysis of the Menendez case before making any clemency decisions.”

Newsom also apparently discussed the case in a recent podcast episode, which is expected to be released soon.

Hochman has said he plans to review the files once he officially takes office. On Monday, he reiterated that position in a statement responding to the governor’s comments.

“Once I take office on December 3, I look forward to doing the hard work of thoroughly reviewing the facts and law of the Menendez case, including reviewing the confidential prison records, the transcripts of the two trials, as well as the extensive documentary evidence. as spoken to the prosecutors, attorneys and family members of the victims,” Hochman said.

“This is the same type of rigorous analysis I have provided throughout my 34-year career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense counsel, and the same type of rigorous analysis I will provide to all cases, regardless of media attention.”

Hochman will review the Menendez case

Hochman’s role is tied to one of the brothers’ other paths to freedom, a brutal court conviction. The brothers are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents in Beverly Hills.

But their lawyers hope a court can modify that sentence to give them a chance at parole, possibly immediately, based in part on their good behavior in prison.

Current District Attorney George Gascón – who lost to Hochman in the election earlier this month – filed a letter with the court in support of a new conviction that could result in their immediate release on probation.

In addition to leniency and retaliation, a third option to free the brothers is a habeas corpus petition, filed last year, asking for review of new evidence not presented at trial. That includes evidence of alleged abuse by the brothers’ parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The hearing on the habeas corpus petition is scheduled for November 25.