California Gov. Gavin Newsom has reached a decision on a pair of clemency requests for Erik and Joseph "Lyle" Menendez, the two Beverly Hills brothers serving life without parole for the murder of their parents in 1989.
He will hold off until the newly elected Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman has time to review the case, respecting the will of the voters who sent the far left progressive George Gascon packing on Election Day, he said.
"The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility," Newsom's office said in a statement. "The Governor will defer to the DA-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."
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Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney general during the President George W. Bush years, previously told Fox News Digital he would not reach a decision of his own until he becomes "thoroughly familiar" with all aspects of the case.
"I will have to review the confidential prison files for each brother, the transcripts from both trials, and speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel, and the victims’ family members," he said shortly after his Election Day victory. "Only then can I make a decision. If, for some reason, I need additional time, I will ask the court for that time."
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The Menendez brothers' resentencing hearing, requested by Gascon just days before he lost his re-election bid, is scheduled for Dec. 11.
"Once I take office on December 3, I look forward to putting in the hard work to thoroughly review the facts and law of the Menendez case, including reviewing the confidential prison files, the transcripts of the two trials, and the voluminous exhibits as well as speaking with the prosecutors, defense attorneys and victim family members," Hochman said Tuesday.
"This is the same type of rigorous analysis I have done throughout my 34-year career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense counsel, and the same type of thorough review that I will give to all cases regardless of media attention."
The brothers have been held on sentences of life without the possibility of parole since 1996, after their second trial in the shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Mary "Kitty" Menendez, who they ambushed in their living room. The first ended in a mistrial a few years earlier.
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They said they killed their dad in self-defense, believing he would have killed them after they warned him they would expose him as a child sex abuser. Their mom was sitting next to him, eating ice cream and watching TV when they started shooting from behind.
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Two dozen relatives have publicly supported the brothers' freedom, including Kitty's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, 92. However, her brother, Milton Andersen, 90, remains vehemently opposed to clemency and says he does not believe the abuse allegations against Jose.
Hochman could continue where Gascon left off and seek the resentencing, ask the judge to withdraw the prior administration's resentencing request or file additional briefs to give the judge more material to work with as the court considers the matter.
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Gascon, after explaining to reporters the process would go through multiple layers of review, from the judge to the parole board and ultimately to Newsom, days later asked the governor to skip all of those steps and immediately grant clemency to the brothers.
If Hochman's office continues down the resentencing road, Newsom still has the final say. If the brothers' sentences are reduced to something that would make them eligible for parole, the governor has veto power over parole board decisions. He could also issue clemency or a pardon on his own.
A separate habeas corpus petition is also making its way through the court, which would be an additional path to freedom if successful. Their petition is based on newly emerged evidence in support of their allegations of child abuse against their father – a corroborating letter of unconfirmed origin and the word of Roy Rosello, a former Menudo member who said he too had been abused by Jose Menendez as a child.
Their lawyer's goal of having them home for Thanksgiving looks unlikely.
