The timing of far-left Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon’s decision to recommend that the Menendez brothers be re-sentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents has raised eyebrows as the DA faces tough re-election amid criticism of his progressive policies.
On Thursday, Gascon announced that he would ask a judge to reconsider a re-sentencing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are currently serving life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. Instead, the woke DA wants the brothers to have a sentence of 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for parole under California law because they were younger than 26 at the time of the murders.
Gascon is trailing behind his opponent, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, by more than 30 points. Hochman accuses the incumbent of using the high-profile case to win political points just weeks before the election.
“By releasing it now, Gascón has cast a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of his decision, allowing Angelenos to question whether the decision was correct and just — or just another desperate political move by a D.A. running a losing campaign scrambling to grab headlines through a made-for-TV decision,” Hochman said.
Hochman pointed to articles that have come out against Gascon that highlight the DA’s failed policies, which have led to the murders of innocent people, as a reason why he is suddenly recommending a re-sentencing.
However, Gascon fired back at Hochman, saying there is “nothing political” about reopening the case.
“We have re-sentenced over 300 people, including 28 for murder. And we will continue to re-sentence people in the future,” he said.
Democrat strategist Mike Trujillo echoed similar remarks to Hochman, accusing Gascon of using the Menendez brothers case to make headlines.
“When you are running a campaign, when you’re a candidate who’s also an elected official … you use the office to make news,” he said. However, Trujillo doubted that it would sway the election in his favor— especially since Gascon is behind in polls by double digits.
The Menendez brothers were 21 and 18 at the time of their parent's murders, in which they shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, multiple times at close range with a shotgun in the family room of their Beverly Hills mansion.
Earlier this year, Gascon announced he would look into newly revealed evidence that the brothers were molested by their father.
“They have been in prison for nearly 35 years," Gascon said Thursday. ”I believe that they have paid their debt to society."