Los Angeles DA Hochman Announces His Opposition to Menendez Brothers Resentencing

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday that he opposes the resentencing of convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez and is now working to withdraw former DA George Gascon’s resentencing hearing motion.

According to Hochman, the brother’s claims of self-defense against their parents Kitty and Lyle Menendez in 1989 are lies, and that the brothers failed to take responsibility for what was a premeditated action.

“Our position is that they shouldn’t get out of jail,” said Hochman at a news conference on Monday. “We bring that position to the court. The court can agree with it, the court can disagree with it or modify it in some respect.

“If the Menendez brothers, at some point, unequivocally, sincerely and fully accept complete responsibility for all their criminal actions, acknowledge that the self-defense defense was phony and their parents weren’t going to kill them and finally come clean with the court, with the public, with the DA’s office, with their own family members and acknowledge all these lies in the future, the court can weigh these new insights into making a determination as to whether they now qualify for rehabilitation and re-sentencing. And the DA’s office will do the same. The self-defense defense was a fabrication. They need to admit to that.

“Because the brothers persist in telling these lies for over 30 years about their self-defense defense and persist in insisting that they did not suborn any perjury or attempt to suborn perjury, then they do not meet the standards for resentencing. They do not meet the standards for rehabilitation.”

The filing went further, stating that although the DA’s office was ready for the resentencing hearings later this month, they would also like to withdraw the initial resentencing request made by Gascon.

“We are basically, in some ways, offering a path to the Menendez brothers, and here’s what the pathway looks like: If the Menendez brothers, at some point unequivocally, sincerely and fully accept complete responsibility for all their criminal actions, acknowledge that the self-defense defense was phony as their parents weren’t going to kill them the night of August 20th when they murdered them in cold blood, acknowledged that they suborned or attempted to suborn perjury and all the various ways I have outline, if they go ahead and finally come clean with the court, with the public, with the DA’s office, with their own family members, and acknowledge all these lies, and then can be said to have fully and completely accepted responsibility for their actions in the future,” added Hochman in the filing. “Then the court can weigh these new insights into making a determination as to whether they now qualify for rehabilitation and re sentencing, and the people will do the same.”

Opposition to resentencing

Hochman also compared the possible Menendez release to the parole attempts by Sirhan Sirhan, who killed Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968 in Los Angeles. He argues that while there is some support for their release and that they are deemed low-risk decades later, neither have taken full responsibility of their crimes. It was because of this Sirhan was deemed an unreasonable threat to the public by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022, and denied his parole.

With resentencing now looking more unlikely than ever, family members of the brothers rejected Hochman’s reasoning on Monday, saying that they are ready.

“Let’s be clear: Erik and Lyle are not the same young boys they were more than 30 years ago,” said the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition in a statement. “They have apologized for the horrific actions they took. They have apologized to us. And, they have demonstrated their atonement through actions that have helped improve countless lives. Yet, DA Hochman is effectively asking for them to publicly apologize to a checklist of actions they took in a state of shock and fear. He sent a message to every young boy who’s the victim of abuse that they should not come forward.”

“Hochman’s hostile, dismissive, and patronizing tone created an intimidating and bullying atmosphere, leaving us, the victims, more distressed and feeling humiliated,” added Tamara Goodell, one of the Menendez brother’s cousins. “The lack of compassion was palpable, and the family left feeling not only ignored but further intimidated and revictimized.”

The Menendez brothers, who shot both their parents with shotguns at their Beverly Hills home in 1989, were sentenced in 1996 for two life sentences without parole. However, in recent years, allegations that their parents abused them began to convince some that their sentencing needed to be reevaluated. Last year, then DA Gascon announced that they would be looking into a resentencing hearing, with the Menendez brothers possibly to be out by Christmas.

However, multiple trial delays, including one brought on by the January wildfires, and the election of Hochman as DA largely derailed plans of an unhindered resentencing hearing. With the hearing now scheduled for March 20th and 21st, the hearing is one of their only hopes for an early release. The other, a clemency by Governor Newsom, is currently being looked into, with the Governor using the case as a reason to streamline the determination of inmate risk.

“For many, this comes down to the fact that they flat out murdered their parents without remorse,” explained legal analyst Jacqueline Sayers to the Globe on Monday. “The questions of abuse don’t stop that, and they haven’t fully admitted to it yet. That’s really hard to get past.

“LA County wanted a tougher DA who stood by victims. Well, they got one!”