(NewsNation) — The man challenging Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón says the incumbent’s support for the Menendez brothers’ clemency is a “political ploy.”
L.A. County district attorney candidate Nathan Hochman joined “Banfield” to discuss the case.
“George Gascón actually wanted to get the Menendez brothers out but not have it affect the election, that he’s currently 30 points down — where he’s got actually no money in the bank,” Hochman said.
The Menendez brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos confirmed to NewsNation that he’s filed documents asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom for clemency.
The brothers are also seeking to recall their murder conviction if a resentencing takes place and instead ask for the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Hochman accused Gascón of waiting to address the matter until it was politically beneficial.
“He could have acted eight to sixteen months before … I guess the media was starting not to pay attention to him, so he thought he’d stir up the pot a little and bat a clemency request to the governor,” Hochman said.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 11 years, so, if approved, Erik and Lyle Menendez could be eligible for parole and released from prison after spending nearly 35 years behind bars.
Both brothers are serving two life sentences without parole for the death of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989.
The case sparked controversy at the time. Prosecutors argued the brothers killed their parents for financial gain, while defense attorneys said the men were acting in self-defense after their father sexually abused them for years.
Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez.
They said their parents were going to kill them to stop people from finding out about the alleged abuse.
Recently filed evidence supporting allegations of their father’s abuse and a 2024 Netflix television series helped renew the public’s interest in the case.
“You don’t want to go ahead and release the Menendezs because they have a media profile, as opposed to the people who don’t,” Hochman said.