Hochman says he hopes public interest in Menendez brothers translates to other cases
With another resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers set in the coming months, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday that he hopes widespread public interest in the '90s murder case translates to other criminal cases.
"I hope the media pays attention to more cases beyond the Menendez case, and quite candidly, I hope that the public that has been interested in the Menendez case uses this as a portal to be involved in other cases — to really look at the criminal justice system, see what's going on, participate in it, ask questions about it," Hochman said during an interview with KCAL News reporter Kristine Lazar Tuesday.
"If the Menendez case serves that purpose, it has served an actually terrific societal purpose in getting people involved in the criminal justice system," he said.
While speaking on the Menendez case last year, Hochman said he planned to continue running the Resentencing Unit in the DA's office, which former DA George Gascón established in April 2021. Hochman had been critical of many Gascón policies as he campaigned last year but has also said that he — like Gascón — rejects mass incarceration policies.
"My plans would be to certainly continue the Resentencing Unit," Hochman said in the days after he was elected. "Once I get into office, I'll be better able to understand all the aspects of it and whether or not any changes are required, whether or not it needs to be scaled up more to do more resentencings."
Hochman has pushed for reaching something he calls "the hard middle." In December, he ordered the release of two people convicted in a 2007 murder case after new revelations supporting their innocence came to light. The process for their exonerations had started under Gascón's leadership over the DA's office, before a judge eventually overturned their convictions.
Erik and Lyle Menendez, the brothers convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting their parents, are scheduled to face a resentencing hearing set for March 20 and 21. They have been behind bars since being sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing their parents at the family's Beverly Hills home on the evening of Aug. 20, 1989.
Several family members of the brothers have publicly shown support for their release from prison and their attorneys have argued for their resentencing, or for a new conviction of manslaughter which could lead to an early release — citing new evidence in the case. The brothers have claimed they were in fear for their life and acted in self-defense, accusing their father of brutal sexual and physical abuse — allegations which many of their family members have backed as they call for them to be freed.
Last year, former LA County DA George Gascón recommended resentencing and supported their bid for clemency.
Hochman has said more than once — in the days after he was elected in November and again on Tuesday — that he must still carry out a complete review of the case before reaching a decision. In November, he said he would work "expeditiously" to decide whether to recommend resentencing, going through thousands of trial transcripts and other paperwork to make that decision.
"I wouldn't engage in delay for delay's sake because this case is too important to the Menendez brothers. It's too important to the victims' family members," Hochman said at the time. "It's too important to the public to delay more than necessary to do the review that people should expect from a district attorney."
Gov. Gavin Newsom has deferred his decision on clemency to allow for Hochman's review.
The March court dates had initially been set for late January but were pushed back due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County earlier this month, which killed at least 28 people and burned entire communities to the ground. The rescheduling was announced by the DA's office in a brief statement last week, and on Tuesday, Hochman gave more details on the reason behind it.
"We'll be ready for that hearing," Hochman said of the March court dates. "We're working as hard as we can. A lot of the individuals on the team that I've assembled evacuated (due to the fires)," Hochman said. "I myself was part of the evacuation. So the wildfire set us back a little bit. But we're working very hard to make sure we get to the right result and then can defend it in court."