When Los Angeles District Lawyer George Gascón stated earlier this month that he would revisit the well-known homicide case of Erik and Lyle Menendez and resolve whether or not to ask a decide to think about resentencing the brothers, some folks – together with his political rival – questioned the timing of his announcement.
Gascón, a Democrat who was swept into workplace in 2020 due to a progressive voter base made up of felony justice reform advocates, is trailing by double digits within the polls in his bid for reelection this November.
And on Thursday, Oct. 24, his opponent within the D.A. race, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, accused the incumbent of utilizing the Menendez brothers’ high-profile case to attain political factors. In a press release, Hochman stated the D.A.’s workplace obtained a petition again in Might 2023 and a request to resentence them in February of this 12 months.
The Menendez brothers are serving life sentences in jail with out the potential of parole. However Gascón stated Thursday he’ll ask a decide to think about lowering the brothers’ sentences right down to life with the potential of parole. As a result of the murders had been dedicated when the brothers had been youthful than 26 years previous, it successfully would enable them to be launched from jail instantly.
Hochman stated Gascón waited till “days earlier than the Nov. 5 election, 30 factors down within the polls” to launch his suggestion for resentencing the Menendez brothers.
“By releasing it now, Gascón has forged a cloud over the equity and impartiality of his resolution, permitting Angelenos to query whether or not the choice was right and simply — or simply one other determined political transfer by a D.A. working a shedding marketing campaign scrambling to seize headlines by way of a made-for-TV resolution,” Hochman stated.
Gascón rejected claims that his resolution was politically motivated.
“There’s nothing political about this,” Gascón stated throughout a Thursday information convention about his plans to ask a courtroom to think about resentencing the Menendez brothers.
“We’ve got re-sentenced over 300 folks, together with 28 for homicide. And we are going to proceed to re-sentence folks sooner or later,” he stated in regards to the D.A.’s workplace underneath his tenure.
The Democrat was swept into workplace in 2020 due to a progressive voter base made up of felony justice reform advocates. Hochman has criticized the incumbent as being too smooth on criminals.
And Hochman isn’t the one one which’s accused Gascón of utilizing the Menendez case to advertise his profile.
Some consider Gascón selected this second – simply weeks out from Election Day – to carry up the Menendez case in hopes that the media consideration will fire up publicity for himself.
“If you end up working a marketing campaign, while you’re a candidate who’s additionally an elected official … you employ the workplace to make information,” stated longtime Democratic strategist Mike Trujillo.
Though Trujillo acknowledged that the extreme public curiosity within the Menendez brothers will carry consideration to Gascón, he forged doubt that the eye may sway the end result of the D.A. race.
“It’s a high-profile case. I simply don’t know that Angelenos are on the facet of the Menendez brothers,” Trujillo stated.
The Menendez brothers made nationwide headlines for the homicide of their mother and father, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. They had been 21 and 18 years previous on the time. Their attorneys claimed they had been victims of sexual abuse by their father and had acted out of concern that their mother and father would kill them to forestall them from disclosing their father’s habits.
The brothers, now 56 and 53, are serving life sentences with out the potential of parole.
Some relations of the Menendez brothers spoke in favor of a resentencing throughout Thursday’s press convention. One of many brothers’ cousins thanked Gascón for placing “justice over politics” and stated his resolution was “a recognition of the abuse my cousins endured.”
However no less than one member of the Menendez household disagreed with the D.A.
The lawyer for Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton Andersen, who opposes a resentencing for his nephews, slammed Gascón, claiming that his resolution to revisit the case at this second is politically motivated.
“With Gascón trailing by 30 factors within the polls, his desperation is palpable,” Andersen’s lawyer, Kathy Cady, stated in a press release Thursday.
“The upcoming election is lower than two weeks away, and it appears Gascón is keen to govern the info for a fleeting likelihood to salvage his political profession. However justice ought to by no means be sacrificed for political acquire,” Cady stated. “His selections have to be grounded in reality and legislation, not a last-ditch effort to sway voters. Gascón’s failure to uphold his moral obligations is a shame, and the victims of this horrific crime, together with Mr. Andersen, deserve much better than being pawns in a politician’s sport.”
Gascón beforehand stated he selected to reexamine the case due to latest new proof – a letter that Erik Menendez reportedly wrote to a cousin years in the past, which his attorneys say corroborates allegations that their father was sexually abusive, plus claims by a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo who not too long ago got here ahead and stated he was raped by Jose Menendez within the Eighties when he was a teen.
Public curiosity within the case was renewed due to two documentaries in regards to the Menendez brothers launched this 12 months.
Gascón stated his workplace was “flooded” with requests for info however didn’t have the sources to deal with the amount. That, he stated, is why he determined to take motion now, although it had already been scheduled to be heard in late November.
Invoice Przylucki is director emeritus of Floor Recreation LA, a corporation that tries to get progressive leaders elected and has endorsed Gascón for reelection. For his group, it’s a “non-issue” that some query the motive behind the timing of Gascón’s resentencing resolution, he stated.
He stated Floor Recreation LA hasn’t taken a place on whether or not the Menendez brothers must be resentenced. Przylucki stated he was talking for himself when he stated: “I’ve no particular cause to consider or not consider that the election had any affect on his considering, or the timing of his resolution on the Menendez case. And albeit, I’m not that excited about it.”
“When is the mistaken time to reexamine a case that ought to probably be reexamined?” he requested.
Michele Hanisee, president of the Affiliation of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys, the union representing almost 900 deputy district attorneys in L.A., had a special take. The union has endorsed Hochman within the upcoming election.
In a submit on the union’s web site, Hanisee criticized the D.A.’s resolution, saying “Gascón’s actions make it clear that he’s extra excited about utilizing his workplace totally free media consideration than in precise justice. His self-serving agenda has left victims and their households uncared for whereas he chases the following headline.”
Gascón’s marketing campaign declined to remark for this text.
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