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Gov. Newsom Delays Menendez Brothers’ Clemency Decision — Here's Why
D.A. George Gascón championed for Lyle and Erik Menendez's release, but a new head prosecutor will have to review the case.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he won’t be making any decisions on granting the Menendez brothers clemency — at least until the new district attorney-elect takes office.
On Monday, November 18, 2024, Newsom released a statement deferring the infamous double murder case to Nathan Hochman, who just beat George Gascón — one of the convicted men’s most vocal champions — in the race for Los Angeles County’s District Attorney, according to The New York Times. The decision comes just weeks after Gascón “strongly” supported Lyle and Erik Menendez’s release from their life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, as previously covered in Peacock’s Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.
Hochman will be sworn in on December 3, 2024, just days before the brothers’ scheduled Dec. 11 court hearing.
Gavin Newsom defers clemency decision for Menendez brothers
In light of the new administration, Newsom’s office released the following statement to The New York Times:
“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,” the release stated. “The governor will defer to the D.A.-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions.”
Hochman, voted into office with a 60 percent lead over Gascón in the early November election, is already implementing his tough-on-crime approach, including calling out Gascón’s extreme “decarceration policies,” according to Fox Los Angeles affiliate KTTV.
The transfer of power leaves Lyle and Erik Menendez’s fate in the balance.
Hochman comments on the Menendez brothers case
During the final weeks of his four-year term, Gascón vowed to “reevaluate” the case, recommend resentencing, and seek clemency from Newsom by penning two glowing letters of recommendation for the incarcerated siblings.
Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, said Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 that he’d review the case himself once taking office, according to The New York Times.
“Once I take office on Dec. 3, I look forward to putting in the hard work to thoroughly review the facts and law of the Menendez case, including reviewing the confidential prison files, the transcripts of the two trials, and the voluminous exhibits, as well as speaking with the prosecutors, defense attorneys, and victim family members,” said Hochman.
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Why the Menendez brothers case is back in the spotlight
The case of Lyle and Erik Menendez, men now in their 50s, has never ceased being headline-grabbing by nature. However, recent shows, including Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, have led spectators to assess the case from a different angle.
The brothers were 21 and 18 when they shot their parents, Kitty and José Menendez, inside their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. However, shifting attitudes over how society views victims of abuse have helped the case receive a tidal wave of support in recent years. Both men maintain they were physically and sexually abused at the hands of their father, and that their mother did nothing to stop it, claims supported by multiple relatives.
Allegations of abuse were heavily restricted from the 1995-1996 trial that sealed the men’s first-degree murder convictions.
Gascón previously pointed to “a greater level of sensitivity” as to why the men should be freed, a stance that has long divided many in his office, he claimed during his Oct. 24, 2024 press conference. He agreed to review a letter reportedly authored by Erik Menendez, documenting the father’s alleged abuse before the double murder occurred.
Gascón also stated claims from “one of the members of the Menudo band” — the focus of Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed — encouraged him to speak out one year after the defense filed a writ of habeas corpus on the same week the Peacock docuseries dropped.
Hochman told CNN that he understands the Menendez brothers' supporters want the men to be freed sooner than later but added that all involved deserve a thorough investigation.
“This is the same type of rigorous analysis I have done throughout my 34-year career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense counsel, and the same type of thorough review that I will give to all cases regardless of media attention,” he said.
A hearing date was scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, though NBC Los Angeles affiliate KNBC reports there will likely be a delay.
Learn more about the case in Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, now available to watch on Peacock.
