The Menendez Brothers may have had an unlikely ally in Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, but his successor doesn’t necessarily seem as likely to be as motivated by public opinion.
L.A. D.A.-elect Nathan Hochman will take over the role on Dec. 2, and he further explained that if Lyle and Erik Menendez’s case lands on his desk, it will require a lot more work than just watching a television show.
“You’ve really got to get beyond the Netflix documentary,” Hochman told “Good Morning America” on Thursday. “If you decide this case based on just viewing a Netflix documentary, you are doing a disservice to the Menendez brothers, to the victims’ family members, to the public.”
Gascón had previously recommended resentencing and even clemency for the Menendez Bros. following the success of Netflix’s “Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story” and other similar docuseries. However, he was voted out in last week’s election, potentially postponing the chance of the pair being freed by Christmas.
“Part of the problem with the Gascón timing of his decision is there’s a cloud over that credibility. Is it a just decision, or was it a political ploy?” Hochman questioned. “There will be no cloud over whatever decision I do.”
“I’m not going to ask for a delay just for delay’s sake, we’ll ask for the minimal amount of time necessary to do this work, because we owe it to the Menendez brothers, we owe it to the public to get this decision right,” he concluded.
Last week, Hochman told the TheWrap that he intends to get “thoroughly familiar with the relevant facts, the evidence and the law” before making a decision. Related hearings have been set for both later this month as well as in December.
Lyle and Erik, now 56 and 53 years old, respectively, have been imprisoned since being found guilty of the 1989 double murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Both were initially given life sentences without the possibility of parole in 1996.
“Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story” and “The Menendez Brothers” doc are both available to stream on Netflix.
