Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman is using Judge Michael Jesic‘s quick deliberation time in the Erik and Lyle Menéndez‘s resentencing case to question whether it was always the intention to let the brothers walk free.
During a hearing on Tuesday, May 13, the brothers were resentenced to 50 years to life, which now makes them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law since they committed their crime under the age of 26. The state parole board must still decide whether to release them from prison.
Hochman, 61, who has not supported the siblings’ bid for release, weighed in on the ruling while speaking to Extra on Tuesday.
“I think he decided to resentence probably a long time ago,” Hochman claimed. “The reason I say that is he managed to hear an entire day’s worth of testimony, and rather than stew on it, think about it, asked to see the transcript to make sure his notes were correct, and even write on it and sort of put his thoughts down in a defensible opinion, he ruled from the bench.”
Hochman pointed out the amount of information presented in the case, adding, “After an entire day’s worth of testimony, after hundreds of pages of briefing, he ruled in four minutes. So again, I think the judge was going to resentence them either way, no matter what we said.”
While speaking to Jesic’s decision, Hochman noted how much attention the Menéndez case received.
“It’s hard to get into the psychology of this particular judge. I think that if this was an ordinary resentencing case, he very well probably would have let us withdraw our motion because we established a very legitimate basis, which is the standard for withdrawing of motion,” he continued. “But because this got the publicity it did, that might have influenced his decision not to allow us to control that resentencing motion.”
Hochman said: “If you add on top of that, the fact that this judge has indicated all along that he’s bent to the facts that were in favor of resentencing, as opposed to the facts that weren’t. So that’s his right. He can focus on whichever facts he wanted, but clearly the facts that fit his narrative were ones that justified resentencing, not the facts that got in the way of resentencing.”
Erik, now 54, and Lyle, now 57, were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez, were found shot in their home. The siblings later admitted to killing their parents following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse. They were ultimately found guilty and sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after two high-profile trials.
While their prior attempts to appeal the decision were denied, recent TV projects such as Monsters, The Menéndez Brothers and more seemingly offered Erik and Lyle another chance at freedom. In October 2024, now-former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón recommended that a judge reduce Erik and Lyle’s sentence to 50 years.
The request got more complicated when Gascón lost his bid for reelection one month later. Hochman took over and wasn’t as supportive of Erik and Lyle’s legal attempts to be released from prison.
“Our job was to get all the facts in front of the judge. We did that. Our job is to make sure the judge had the accurate law. We did that as well. We said the Menéndez’s were not right for resentencing. They still aren’t,” he told Extra on Tuesday. “The judge ruled as the judge will, and now sends it to the parole board and ultimately to the governor.”
Hochman clarified that he is now stepping away from the case. “Effectively, I’m done with it,” he confirmed. “Obviously, if the parole board needs additional input from the DA office if the governor decides he wants to reach out and have a conversation, I’m not going to say no to that, but I’m not going to affirmatively put myself into the mix.”
According to Hochman, there is still a long process before Erik and Lyle could walk free.
“The governor has 180 days to make a decision under the law once he gets word from the parole board, but he can make a decision in the first day, or wait in the entire 180 days to decide. I think he’s monitoring the case office to really familiarize ourselves with all the facts in the law,” he added. “I’m sure the governor then has the final decision on whether or not he wants to set the Menéndez brothers free and effectively overturned the jury’s verdict from 35 years ago on a first degree murder with special circumstances, shotgunning your parents to death, or he wants to let them serve the rest of their sentence that the jury and the judge gave out over 30 years ago.”
