Los Angeles County DA Nathan Hochman says prosecutors will start seeking the death penalty in some murder cases
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Tuesday that prosecutors in his office will start seeking the death penalty in certain cases of murder with special circumstances.
Hochman called it an important change to the current and historic polices of the DA's office.
"Effective immediately, the prior administration's extreme and categorical policy forbidding prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in any case is rescinded," the DA's office said in a statement announcing the policy change.
Former District Attorney George Gascón did not seek the death penalty in murder cases when he took office in 2020, and instead, he called for the resentencing of death row inmates to life in prison.
LA County prosecutors will now pursue capital punishment in some murder cases, but only after an "extensive and comprehensive review and only in exceedingly rare cases," the DA's office said.
In 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order halting executions in California and announced plans to close the state's death row at San Quentin prison. Though the death penalty is on hold in the state, it remains legal. Hochman said as long as it's legal, his office will consider it in the most heinous of cases.
"I remain unwaveringly committed to the comprehensive and thorough evaluation of every special circumstance murder case prosecuted in Los Angeles County, in consultation with the murder victim's survivors and with full input on the mitigating and aggravating factors of each case, to ensure that the punishment sought by the Office is just, fair, fitting, and appropriate," Hochman said.
