Menendez brothers appeal: Gov. Gavin Newsom says clemency decision will wait until new DA Nathan Hochman reviews case

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

One of these scenarios involves seeking clemency from the governor.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday made it clear that opportunity 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 about the possibility of clemency.

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

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

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

“When I take office on December 3rd, I look forward to doing the hard work of thoroughly reviewing the facts and the law in the Menendez case, including reviewing the confidential prison records, the transcripts of the two trials and the voluminous exhibits. as speaking with the prosecutors, the defense attorneys and the victim’s family members,” Hochman said.

“This is the same type of rigorous analysis that I have done throughout my 34-year career in criminal law as a prosecutor and defense attorney, and the same type of thorough review that I will give to all cases regardless of media attention.”

Hochman to review the Menendez case

Hochman’s role relates to one of the brothers’ other paths to freedom, an outrage on the part of the court. 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 change that sentence to offer them a chance at parole, possibly immediately, in part because of their good behavior in prison.

Current District Attorney George Gascón — who lost to Hochman in the election earlier this month — filed a case with the court supporting a complaint that could result in their immediate release on probation.

Besides clemency and resentencing, a third option to free the brothers is a habeas corpus petition, filed last year, asking for a review of new evidence not presented at trial. It includes evidence of alleged abuse by the brothers’ parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The hearing on the habeas corpus petition is set for November 25.