Erik And Lyle Menendez
L.A. D.A. Tries To Save Face During Panel Discussion …
After Going Down In Court
Published
TMZ.com
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman talked about the “L” he took in court during a public meeting just hours after convicted double murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez inched closer to freedom with their big legal victory Tuesday.
TMZ obtained video of Tuesday night’s panel discussion hosted by Fox L.A. News anchor Elex Michaelson, who questioned Hochman about his loss at the Menendez Brothers resentencing hearing earlier in the day.
Check out video, obtained by TMZ, which shows Michaelson seated next to Hochman and others onstage at L.A.’s Temple Isaiah — and things get tense right from the get-go in front of the crowd.
Michaelson kicks off the chat by pointing out Hochman came up short in court because he opposed the Menendez brothers’ resentencing of 50 years to life announced yesterday by a judge. The brothers were originally sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Hochman, slightly embarrassed, tries to save face by saying his office litigates 180,000 criminal cases each year, and he would be happy to talk about them after he addresses Menendez. Worth noting, Menendez is the second celebrity case Hochman has lost recently … the first being A$AP Rocky.
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Back to the panel … Hochman goes into his spiel about the Menendez brothers, arguing that they should not receive a resentencing at this time because they have never come clean about the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose, in their Beverly Hills home.
Hochman also noted the judge rejected the defense’s motion to downgrade the first-degree murder charge to manslaughter because the killings were premeditated.
But, all this is just performative at this point … The reality is the resentencing means nothing, because the parole board is already reviewing the Menendez case at Governor Newsom‘s direction.
If the parole board concludes the brothers are no longer a danger to society and rehabilitated, then it seems the governor will grant them clemency given the fact he got the ball rolling on the parole board process.
Stay tuned.
