The challenger in the race for Los Angeles County District Attorney has accused incumbent George Gascón of using the Menendez brothers case to distract from his failures in office.
At a debate on Tuesday night, Nathan Hochman faulted Gascón for holding a press conference last week to announce that he was considering whether the brothers should be freed from prison.
“The timing is incredibly suspicious,” Hochman said.
The Ryan Murphy series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” debuted on Netflix last month, renewing interest in the brothers who are serving life sentences for killing their parents in 1989.
The brothers asked the court last year to be re-sentenced, after new evidence emerged that supported the defense claim that the father, Jose Menendez, was a sexual abuser. The D.A.’s office has yet to respond to that petition, but Gascón said last week that he was taking it seriously.
“We have a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us,” he said, saying it was possible that “had that evidence been presented, perhaps a jury would have come to a different conclusion.”
At the debate, Gascón said his office is still reviewing it, and that he decided to hold a press conference because his office was deluged with media queries after “Monsters” was released.
“There’s a difference of opinion in my office,” he said, in response to a question from KNX reporter Emily Valdez. “There are people who believe the Menendez brothers should continue to stay in prison. We believe it’s worthy of a second look. We’ll take a second look.”
Hochman argued that Gascón was using the case to distract attention from an article about another murder case, in which teen girl was given leniency and was later charged again after being released.
He also argued that Gascón was mishandling the Menendez case, and had not spoken with the prosecutors involved in the petition.
Hochman did not say how he would handle the Menendez petition, but he said he would get “deep, deep into the facts,” and talk to experts before reaching a conclusion.
“You certainly would not have me hold a press conference to tell you I’m just thinking about it,” he said.
The election is Nov. 5, and Hochman has held a wide lead in polls conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.
The next hearing in the Menendez case is Nov. 29.
The Netflix series has been heavily criticized by the Menendez family, who called it “phobic,” “gross” and “riddled with mistruths.” The family also argued that the series ignored the recent evidence, which they believe exculpates the brothers.
Murphy, the co-creator of the show, has defended the depiction, saying he took a “Rashomon” approach to the case. He told Variety that the show was “the best thing that has happened to the Menendez brothers in 30 years.”
“They are now being talked about by millions of people all over the world,” Murphy said.
The new evidence came to light through the Peacock documentary “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” which was released last year. Netflix released another documentary, “The Menendez Brothers,” on Monday.
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