Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Monday that he would not make a decision on granting clemency to Lyle and Erik Menendez, who killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989, until after the incoming district attorney in Los Angeles County conducted his own review of the case.
The current district attorney, George Gascón, asked a judge in October to resentence the brothers, who were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Around the same time, the brothers petitioned the governor for clemency, and Mr. Gascón wrote a letter in support of the request.
But Mr. Gascón lost his re-election bid this month to Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who vowed to be tougher on crime, and the change in leadership has cast some doubt on whether the resentencing bid will move forward.
“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,” Mr. Newsom’s office said in a statement on Monday. “The governor will defer to the D.A.-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions.”
Mr. Hochman has said publicly that he will conduct his own review of the case after he is sworn into office on Dec. 3, and that he may ask the Los Angeles Superior Court judge overseeing the resentencing petition to delay a hearing scheduled for Dec. 11.
“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,” Mr. Hochman said in a statement on Monday.
The case of the Menendez brothers drew widespread attention in the 1990s for its lurid nature and the wealth of the family. Their first trial, which ended in hung juries — the brothers each had their own jury — was one of the first trials televised to a national audience.
The brothers claimed that they had been sexually molested by their father, and that they were worried their parents would harm them to avoid public disclosure of the abuse. Testimony related to the abuse was largely excluded from their second trial, in which they were convicted and sent to prison for the rest of their lives.
The case, though, has drawn renewed scrutiny after a docudrama and documentary came out on Netflix detailing the abuse allegations. At the same time, lawyers for the brothers have filed a petition with a Los Angeles court arguing that new evidence has come to light that backs up the abuse claims. That petition, which could result in a new trial, is separate from the effort by Mr. Gascón to have the brothers resentenced and the clemency request filed with Mr. Newsom.
Mr. Gascón said that the recent TV productions and the new attention on the case led to a flood of calls to his office. As a result, he said, he sped up the review that had been ongoing in his office and came to the decision that the brothers should have a chance at freedom.
While acknowledging the gruesome nature of the murders — the brothers killed their parents with shotguns as their parents were watching TV — Mr. Gascón said that the brothers had been exemplary prisoners and that he found the abuse claims credible. Many of the brothers’ family members, from both sides, have supported the efforts to win their release.
Mr. Gascón has recommended that the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life. That is longer than what the brothers have already served, but because they committed their crimes when they were younger than 26, they would be eligible for parole immediately. Mr. Gascón said that there had been disagreements in his office, and that some prosecutors were opposed to any leniency.
Mr. Newsom said last month on his “Politickin’” podcast that his team had researched the Menendez brothers’ case and was waiting to see what the Los Angeles Superior Court would decide. At the time, the brothers had not yet filed a clemency request with Mr. Newsom, so he was evaluating the situation with the understanding that it would reach his desk only if a judge agreed to resentence them and a parole board decided they were fit for release.
Mr. Newsom, on the podcast, acknowledged the role that the documentary and docudrama played in reconsidering the Menendez brothers’ situation, and he called the new evidence “compelling.” But he said he would withhold judgment until further review.
“What matters are the facts,” he said. “What matters is justice and fairness. Not treating them any worse because they’re celebrities. Not treating them, certainly, any better because they’re celebrities.”
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