Newsom puts Menendez brothers’ pardon decision on hold pending review by LA DA-elect

California Governor Gavin Newsom postponed a decision on clemency for Eric and Lyle Menendez until the newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney took office – dashing their hopes. being free for the holidays After spending three decades in prison for the murder of his wealthy parents.

The fate of the convicted killer siblings is now in the hands of Republican Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who defeated incumbent George Gascón for re-election after the ultra-liberal top prosecutor was ousted. Advocated the release of brothers from jail,

“The Governor respects the District Attorney’s role in ensuring justice and believes that voters have entrusted this responsibility to District Attorney-elect Hochman,” Newsom’s office said. said in a statement to CNN.

“The Governor will defer to the DA-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case before making any clemency decisions.”

The decision allows Hochman, who had campaigned for a tough stance on crime, to review thousands of pages of prison files and trial transcripts and consult with law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys and victims before making his recommendation to the court. Will get time to talk to family members. ,

The newly elected district attorney committed to conducting a thorough review of the high-profile case when he takes office on Dec. 2.

Hochman explained, “This is the same type of rigorous analysis that I have conducted throughout my 34-year career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, and the same type of thorough review that I conduct in all cases regardless of media attention. “Will give it to.” CNN.

Gascón announced last month that his office was recommending the brothers, now both in their 50s. Must be eligible for parole After spending more than 30 years behind bars for shooting dead his parents in 1989.

He declared that the highly publicized parent-killers had paid their debt and were no longer a threat to society, citing new evidence – including one explosive handwritten letter Everyone from Eric to his cousin claimed that their father had sexually abused them before the murder.

In 1996, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole for the brutal murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, in 1989.

Eric and Lyle, who were 21 and 18 respectively at the time, murdered the couple with a shotgun while they were watching TV in their Beverly Hills mansion.

The highly publicized trial that followed made him a household name.

The brothers’ lawyers argued at trial that they had acted in self-defense after years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father, including testimony from other family members that supported the allegations. Prosecutors argued that they were after their parents’ $15 million estate.

The trial ended in a hung jury in 1994.

The second trial in 1995 ended with the conviction of both brothers on two counts of first-degree murder, when a judge ruled that the jury could not hear most of the testimony about the alleged sexual abuse.

The case largely fell out of the headlines during his prison sentence, but was recently featured in the Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story,” Brought new interest to the case.