Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has terminated a sweeping moratorium on the death penalty, reopening the door for its pursuit in select murder cases. Hochman clarified that the capital punishment option would now be considered following exhaustive and scrupulous reviews, emphasizing that its application would remain an exception, reserved for particularly heinous instances.
The previous DA, George Gascón, had enacted reforms aimed at reducing mass incarceration, which included categorically banning prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. This policy came to an end following Gascón's defeat in the last election. An upswing in violent crime and retail theft reportedly played a role in undermining Gascón's tenure, ultimately contributing to his reelection loss to Hochman.
Under the new guidelines, the District Attorney's Office announced that defense teams will be given greater opportunities to present information about defendants when the death penalty is up for consideration. According to the Los Angeles County DA's Office, input from the families of murder victims will also be sought before any final decision is finalized. The intent is to ensure that only the most qualified cases may end up facing the ultimatum of a death sentence.
Hochman has pledged that each case involving special circumstance murder charged by his office will be evaluated thoroughly and in consultation with the victims' families, taking into consideration all mitigating and aggravating factors. "I remain unwaveringly committed to the comprehensive and thorough evaluation of every special circumstance murder case prosecuted in Los Angeles County," Hochman conveyed, as detailed by KTLA. The changes implemented are a move to align the punishment to be just, fair, fitting, and appropriate, per the DA's stance.
Highlighting the policy's aim at precision rather than breadth, it was also communicated that in most cases, the DA's Office would be able to inform the court at an early juncture if they would pursue life imprisonment without parole in lieu of the death penalty when it concerns special circumstance murder charges. Furthermore, the standard for charging such cases will now be based on certainty "beyond a reasonable doubt" instead of "probable cause," introducing a higher threshold for moving forward with the most severe of penalties.
