LOS ANGELES.–Getting their resentencing hearing over the objections 61-year-old Los Angeles District Atty. Nathan Hochman, Lyle and Erik Menendez hoped to get their day in court to prove they were worthy of resentencing and release after 35 years in custody for the shocking shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez Aug. 20, 1989. Hochman said he reviewed the court records and disagreed with former Los Angeles Country DA George Gascon. Gascon thought based on information he reviewed, Lyle and Erik Menendez have impeccable rehabilitation records, consistent with inmates that have met requirements for parole, no longer a threat to society for admitting to murdering their parents. Hochman reviewed the records and concluded that the two brothers never accepted or admitted their crimes and are not eligible for resentencing or parole.
Both brothers are now represented by 67-year-old famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos who called Hochman’s actions to block a resentencing hearing a “Hail Mary.” Hochman made up his own mind about the Mendendez brothers and decided block a resentencing hearing, leaving it up to Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom to make up his own mind to release the Mendendez boys or not. Geragos called Hochman’s attempt to stop the resentencing hearing a “dog and pony show,” meaning it was a colossal publicity stunt. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jessic disagreed with Hochman and allowed the resentencing hearing to go ahead over Hochman’s objections. Judge Jessic said he needed the Calif. State Parole Board report giving the most recent assessment of Lyle and Erik’s rehabilitation. Jessic said he wanted more information from the governor’s office.
Jessic said he needed ‘clarification from the governor’s office, because this is stupid,” referring to what’s needed to make an informed decision. At least 10 family members of Lyle and Erik Menendez want to testify in support of their resentencing. Gascon said based on time served under currently sentencing guide lines, if the brothers were resentenced to a 50-year sentence they would be automatically eligible for parole. Hochman spent three hours last week opposing resentencing because the brothers lacked remorse, never really admitted fully to their crimes. Hochman called their defense a “litany of lies,” rejecting arguments made by their former criminal defense Atty. Laurie Levenson that they were molested by their father and feared for their lives when they ambushed their parents. Geragos called Hochman a ‘90s Neanderthal” for rejecting the brothers’ statements about sexual abuse.
Hochman argued forcefully before Judge Jessic, Friday, April 11 that the Menendez brothers lied through the trial about their abuse and self-defense. “We concluded that the case was not ripe for resentencing base on the Menendez brothers’ continuing failure to exhibit full insight and complete responsibility for the entire gamut of their criminal actions and cover-up . . . “ Hocham told Judge Jessic. “Until the Menendez brothers finally come clean with all their lies of self-defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury, they are not rehabilitated and pose and unreasonable risk of danger to public safety,” Hochman told the judge. Apparently Judge Jessic disagreed because he allowed the resentencing hearing to go on. If Hochman made a convincing case, Jessic would have seen it his way. But Jessic knows that Hochman can’t supercede the governor’s full rehabilitation report.
Geragos sees only good things coming for his client with Judge Jessic thinking Gascon went a bridge too far in his opposition to resentencing “. . . . Fabrications of their self-defense and their lies concerning their father being a violent rapist, the mother being a poisoner, and their trying to obtain a handgun for self-defense the day before the murder,” Hochman told the judge. Hochman knows that only a jury can reach conclusions he made in arguing against resentencing. Over 20 Mendez relatives support the brothers’ release. When it comes the governor’s report from the parole board, it looks to support the brothers’ long history in custody of exemplary behavior and rehabilitation, not consistent with Hohman’s statements that the brothers continue to lie about their acts. “They are truly, deeply sorry what they did. And they are profoundly remorseful,” said their cousin Diane VanderMolen.
Whether Hochman knows it or not, Newsom, who has his eyes on the 2028 White House, doesn’t want to make a clemency decision. So, Newsom would be inclined to turn over the Parole Board’s findings about the Menendez brothers time in custody. “They are filled with remorse over what they did. And through that, they have become pretty remarkable people,” VanderMolen said, disputing Hochman’s derogatory comments about the brothers. Newsom announced in February he asked the Parole Board to perform a “comprehensive assessment” to determine whether the brothers present “an unreasonable risk to the public if they gained clemency and were released.” If resentenced to 50-years-to-life, both Menendez brothers would be eligible for immediate release, since they served 35 years starting at age 26. Hochman looks poised for his first high profile defeat.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
