LOS ANGELES — Erik and Lyle Menendez’s bid for freedom hit another possible roadblock this week as California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he will not review their clemency request until after the incoming Los Angeles County district attorney makes a resentencing recommendation.
Nathan Hochman is set to take office Dec. 2 after his win this month over District Attorney George Gascón, who has supported resentencing the Menendezes and urged clemency. Hochman has said he will review the case himself before he makes any decisions.
Newsom “respects the role of the district attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility,” a spokesman said.
Erik and Lyle Menendez are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. Their case has been thrust back into the public spotlight after recent documentaries and a Netflix series that dramatizes the murders and highlights the brothers’ accounts that they acted in self-defense after years of physical and sexual abuse by their father.
Gascón recommended this fall that the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, citing good behavior during their 35 years behind bars. If a judge agrees, they would be immediately eligible for parole and could be released. A hearing is scheduled before a judge on Dec. 11
But Hochman, the incoming DA, said he needs to review the case, including transcripts from two trials and prison disciplinary records, before he makes a recommendation. He could ask a judge for a delay.
Hochman questioned the role politics may have played in Gascón’s decision to support resentencing.
“Was it a just decision or was it just a political ploy?” Hochman asked NBC News. “That’s why I have to do this thorough review of the facts and the law to make sure that there’s no credibility problems with my decision.”
