A judge denied Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s last-minute motion on Thursday to delay Erik and Lyle Menendez‘s resentencing hearing. The hearing is now set to move forward as planned on Thursday, with the Menendez brothers appearing in virtual attendance from a prison near San Diego.
Hochman’s Wednesday night motion contended that the hearing should be rescheduled to give the court and presiding judge Micheal Jesic enough time to obtain a risk assessment report of the brothers that was requested in February by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and conducted by the state’s Board of Parole Hearings. Jesic disagreed and rejected Hochman’s motion early Thursday.
Hochman argued during a press conference Thursday morning that the report “constituted additional facts that the court should consider in deciding whether or not the Menendez brothers do pose a risk of danger to society.”
“These additional facts are based on a review that the parole board does that is comprehensive,” Hochman stated. “We wanted to make sure that the judge got a copy of that report and considered it in connection with this sentencing. And, by the way, that report, as it pertains to the parole situation, is just one piece of the information that the parole board will consider on June 13 when it conducts its own hearing.”
Hochman’s last-ditch legal move came a week after Jesic also rejected the district attorney’s previous attempt to withdraw the original resentencing motion for the Menendez brothers, which was recommended in October by former L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón.
If successful, the Menendez brothers’ resentencing could free the two of their lifetime sentences for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise, and open the door for them to be paroled and re-enter society. For his part, Hochman has stood in firm opposition to brothers’ resentencing, arguing that they must first admit to all the “lies” they’ve told about their parents’ murders over the years before being considered for parole.
Of all the figures involved in the Menendez brothers’ ongoing resentencing efforts, Newsom holds the most power. The governor is expected to use the aforementioned risk assessment report to help evaluate the brothers as part of their scheduled June 13 hearing before the state parole board. Ultimately, it will be up to Newsom to decide whether or not to grant Erik and Lyle the clemency they have fought years to obtain.
