Can a new Los Angeles district attorney affect the Menendez brothers' case?
LOS ANGELES -- Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman is projected to become the next Los Angeles County District Attorney, unseating incumbent George Gascón, and he vows to stay true to his "hard middle" approach.
"We're going to go back to the sensible, common sense, proportional approach, and day one should be fantastic," he said.
Hochman sat down with our sister station KABC in Los Angeles for a one-on-one interview as he holds a commanding lead over Gascón with roughly 61% of the vote. Gascón has 39%.
Full interview: Hochman talks first day in office and Menendez case
Hochman advanced out of a primary field of 11 challengers and spent most of the campaign attacking Gascón policies that he says led to increased crime and a lack of consequences for juvenile offenders. During debates he spotlighted rising violent crime in the county, a trend also seen statewide and at the national level.
During Wednesday's interview, Hochman gave credit to Gascón for identifying real problems in the system, but that it was his solutions he didn't agree on.
"When I come down as the middle, and I call it the 'hard work middle' or the 'hard middle,' because you've got to do the work," explained Hochman. "You've got to look at each case individually, look at the individual defendant, the defendant's background, the crime committed and the impact on the victim, to determine who the true threats are to our public safety. Those are often the repeat offenders who need to be behind bars ... Your first-time non-violent offender still has to pay a debt back to society if they violate society's laws."
How does Gascón losing impact the Menendez appeal?
Last month, Gascón announced that he was recommending the Menendez brothers' sentence of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life.
Lyle and Erik Menendez have spent nearly 35 years in prison for the 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brother's were sentenced in 1996 to two consecutive terms of life without parole.
Gascón's recommendation will go before a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, and if the judge agrees, the decision will next be in the hands of a parole board.
Hochman said he will "thoroughly review" the case if it lands on his desk after December 2, when he's expected to take office.
He said he currently does not have access to the case.
"The same methodology that I would approach the Menendez case is how I would approach all cases, which is you have to thoroughly review the facts and the law," said Hochman. "Only then, after all that extensive review can a DA form an appropriate opinion on whether resentencing is just or unjust and what that resentencing should be. So if the Menendez case lands on my desk after December 2, I will engage in exactly that type of review, but again, that's the type of review that's not reserved for just the Menendez case or any media case, that's' the type of review that will occur in all cases."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
