Key Takeaways
- Gascon’s support for Menendez brothers’ release was likely a political move with doubts cast by Hochman.
- Hochman plans to review the Menendez case thoroughly based on facts, not media influence post-Docu.
- Gascon lost re-election and his support won’t impact the Menendez decision, out of his hands as Hochman takes office.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has been a huge hit for Netflix since it was launched in September 2024. It has led to questions over the life sentence they received back in the 90s, and renewed calls for their release. The Los Angeles District Attorney, George Gascon, has been vocal in his support of the Menendez Brothers’ release. However, doubts have been raised about the chances of the Menendez Brothers gaining freedom as Gascon has just lost the election to Nathan Hochman.
Hochman has been less favorable about the Menendez Brothers being released, and questioned Gascon’s motivations for backing their petition, ahead of the election. The case has been featured heavily in the media since the release of Monsters season 2, and there is a TIkTok movement which has gone viral that is calling for Lyle and Erik’s release, but things are looking less positive for the Menendez Brothers, with Gascon on his way out.
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George Gascon Has Lost His Bid For Re-Election As Los Angeles District Attorney, Which Puts The Menendez Brothers’ Bid For Freedom In Doubt
George Gascon announced his support for the Menendez Brothers case on October 24, just over two weeks before he lost the election to Nathan Hochman on November 5. This raises serious doubts over the Menendez Brothers bid for clemency, with the decision now out of Gascon’s hands. Gascon comes from a background in law enforcement, serving as a police chief in San Francisco, so he could never have previously been accused of not being tough on crime. However, he seems to be quite taken with the Menendez Brothers’ bid for freedom, which has puzzled a lot of people. Gascon was elected in 2020 and has been criticized for not being tough enough on crime, and his attitude towards the Menendez case appears to be the final nail in his political coffin.
The Incoming District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, Has Suggested Gascon’s Support Of The Menendez Brothers Was A Desperate Political Move
The incoming District Attorney of Los Angeles, Nathan Hochman, has been critical of Gascon’s favoritism towards the Menendez brothers, and he opened up on his views in an interview with ABC News after he won the election:
Part of the problem with the Gascón timing of his decision is there’s a cloud over that credibility. Is it just a decision, or was it just a political ploy? There will be no cloud over whatever decision I make.
Gascon hit back at his opponent, and insists he was right to back the Menendez brothers’ bid for freedom:
I believe that they should be released, and they should be released cleanly within the law. I based my decision on the review of 30 years of information about their behavior, as well as a very thorough understanding of what they were convicted of and the elements of the crime. So my decision was appropriately based.
Hochman will begin his term in office on December 2, and the Menendez brothers’ re-sentencing hearing will take place on December 11. Hochman has promised that he will review the case in great detail, before coming to a decision.
What these files say is too important an issue to delegate to somebody else. I need to actually do the work myself. 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 victim’s family members, we owe it to the public to get this decision right. If you decide this case based on just reviewing a Netflix documentary, you’re doing a disservice to the Menendez brothers, to the victims’ family members, to the public.
It’s refreshing to hear that Hochman is going to ignore the buzz surrounding the Menendez case, and base his decision on the facts. It looks like Gascon picked up renewed interest in the Menendez case after the Netflix true crime drama and documentary, and saw an opportunity to use it to boost his re-election campaign. However, it has now backfired as he won’t be the one making the ultimate decision. He was still responsible for getting their case back in a courtroom, but all bets are off from that point onwards.
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