Nathan Hochman Questions Timing of Menendez Decision in L.A. DA Race

The District Attorney of Los Angeles County, George Gascón, is allegedly attempting to spring the Menendez brothers from behind bars to gain some favor in the political arena … according to his challenger in the upcoming November election.

We had a conversation with Nathan Hochman, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney General and a candidate vying for Gascón’s position as L.A. County’s D.A., during “TMZ Live” on Friday. He expressed that he finds the timing of Gascón’s announcement to be “extremely questionable.”

Hochman points out that the writ of habeas corpus was submitted last May, and the request for resentencing followed in February. He raises the question, if D.A. Gascón truly believed that Erik and Lyle should be released from prison, why did he delay in advocating for this?

NH mentions that a series of negative press — including the incident involving a double murderer freed after serving less than four years — compelled Gascón to resort to a drastic strategy to release the Menendez brothers.

Hochman believes Gascón is misleading the public by stating he revisited the case due to a heightened interest following a new Netflix documentary, asserting he has been privy to this new evidence for over a year.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Gascón announced that he would request a judge to alter the sentences of Erik and Lyle from life imprisonment without parole to life with the possibility of parole. Given their time served, the brothers might be eligible for parole, contingent upon the approval of the judge overseeing their case — William C. Ryan.

For what it’s worth, Gascón clarified during the press conference that the upcoming election has no influence on his decision to advocate for their release.

The brothers may still need to appear before the parole board… nevertheless, defense lawyer Mike Cavalluzzi asserts that the judge has the authority to exercise his own judgment and amend the sentence.

As of earlier this month, Hochman was ahead of Gascón by 30 points, as reported by the L.A. Times — indicating that George has significant ground to cover.