Menendez Brothers: Gov. Newsom Shares Decision on Clemency Request

As Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez continue to fight for resentencing, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he will defer to District Attorney-elect Nathan Hochman before considering clemency.

By Will Reid Nov 19, 2024 1:49 AMTags

How the Change of Los Angeles County’s District Attorney Will Impact the Menendez Brothers’ Case

Eric Menendez and Lyle Menendez’s fight for freedom has a new development.

Following Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón’s efforts to have the brothers resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the case will be sent back to the D.A.’s office. He explained that the decision to move forward on resentencing efforts will lie in the hands of Gascón’s successor, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman, who was elected to take over as District Attorney starting on Dec. 2.

“The Governor 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,” Newsom’s office said Nov. 18 in a statement obtained by NBC News. “The Governor will defer to the D.A.-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions.”

Gascón expressed his support for the brothers’ petition for clemency at a press conference Oct. 24 before formally making the request in a pair of letters submitted to the governor’s office Oct. 30. However, he was defeated days later in his bid for re-election by Hochman—who has not taken an official stance on the matter.

“I would get deep, deep into the facts,” the politician said during an L.A. Times and KNX News debate in October. “You would certainly not have me hold a press conference to tell you I’m just thinking about it.”

During the debate, he also questioned the timing of Gascón’s comments about the case, calling it “incredibly suspicious.” However, Gascón shut down claims his efforts were due to the election, saying at the press conference that his office had been working with the Menendez family for months on the matter.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (inset: Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

The Menendezes’ case gained renewed public interest amid the release of Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, starring Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch in the titular roles. At his October election debate, Gascón admitted that the series and subsequent Menendez Brothers doc helped expedite the brothers’ case.

“When a recent Netflix documentary came out, we immediately started getting bombarded with media requests and calls because the case came back again to the surface,” he explained. “The decision was made that rather than answer one media request at a time, we would actually just come out and very clearly say where we are.”

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