New LA DA Nathan Hochman speaks out about the Menendez brothers’ fight for freedom

As calls for the Menendez brothers’ release from prison mount, the incoming Los Angeles County district attorney says he has a lot of evidence to sift through before showing his support.

Nathan Hochman won last week’s election for the DA, beating incumbent George Gascón in a landslide, taking office in December. The election came just weeks after Gascón announced his recommendation that the Menendez brothers be resentenced and eligible for parole immediately.

Hochman questioned the motivation behind Gascón’s decision to support outrage so close to the election.

“Part of the problem with Gascón’s timing of his decision is that there is a cloud over that credibility. Is it a fair decision or was it just a political ploy?” Hochman said.

“There will be no cloud over any decision I make,” he added.

Gascón denied that his decision was politically motivated, telling ABC News: “I think they should be released and they should be released cleanly within the law.”

“I base my decision on the review of 30 years of … information about their conduct, as well as a very thorough understanding of what they were convicted of and the elements of the crime,” Gascón said. “So my decision was appropriately based.”

The infamous case dates back to 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home. The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, but prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in mistrials. In 1996, after the second trial – in which the judge excluded much of the sex abuse evidence – the brothers were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole.

As Gascón’s appeal of the brothers’ claim moves through the courts, Hochman — who is set to take office Dec. 2 — said he plans to read the new alleged evidence, trial transcripts, confidential prison records and interviews with family, lawyers and law enforcement.

“What these files say is too important a subject to delegate to someone else. I have to actually do the work myself,” he told ABC News.

The next hearing in the complaint case is on 11 December. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, said he will “work as quickly as possible,” adding, “If we need a little extra time to formulate our position, I will ask the court for that.”

“I will not ask for delay just for the sake of delay,” he added. “We will ask for the minimal amount of time necessary to do this work because we owe it to the Menendez brothers, we owe it to the victim’s family members, we owe it to the public to get this decision right.”

The brothers’ case was pulled back into the spotlight this fall with Netflix’s release of a scripted series and a documentary – and now a new generation is demanding their release.

“If you decide this case based on just reviewing a Netflix documentary, you do a disservice to the Menendez brothers, to the victims’ family members, to the public,” Hochman said.

The Menendez brothers have three possible paths to freedom.

One way is through outrage. Gascón announced last month that he was recommending that the brothers’ life sentences without the possibility of parole be removed and that they instead be convicted of murder, which would carry a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, with the new sentence they would be eligible for parole immediately, Gascón said.

The DA’s office said its recommendations for resentencing take into account factors including the defendants’ age, psychological trauma or physical abuse that contributed to the commission of the crime and their rehabilitation in prison. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

The second path is the brothers’ request for clemency, which they submitted to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

On Nov. 18, the governor explained in a statement that he would not honor that request directly because he “respects the district attorney’s role in ensuring that justice is served.”

In addition, he wrote that he “recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman with carrying out this responsibility” and therefore would “delay to the elected DA’s review and analysis of the Menendez case before making any clemency decisions.”

The third avenue is their habeas corpus petition, which was filed last year to review new evidence not presented at trial.

One proof is the claims of a former boy band member who revealed last year that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

The second piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders, detailing his alleged abuse. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but the letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t found until several years ago, according to the brothers’ attorney.

The next hearing on the habeas corpus petition is set for November 25.

ABC News’ Alex Stone, Jenna Harrison and Ashley Riegle contributed to this report.