district. Atti. Nathan Hochman will allow prosecutors to seek death penalty in Los Angeles again, one of the signature policies of his predecessor, George Gascón.
The move is not surprising: Hochman announced a challenge to Gascón in 2023 and ran almost on the issue. But this still marks a major shift in one of the largest prosecutor’s offices in the country.
Under California law, death penalty can only be sought if the defendant is charged with special circumstances of murder. This may include multiple homicides or cases where the victim is a law enforcement officer or witnesses a crime. If the prosecutor does not seek the death penalty in such circumstances, the defendant faces life in prison without parole.
“I remain firmly committed to a comprehensive assessment of every special case murder case prosecuted in Los Angeles County and consult with the survivors of the murder victims and devote themselves to the mitigation and aggravation factors of each case to ensure that the punishment the office seeks is fair, fair, appropriate, appropriate, appropriate, appropriate.”
exist Interview with The Times The day after Hodgman defeated Gascon, he said he would only be in death sentences “in rare cases” such as school shootings, family terrorist attacks or police killings.
Hawkeman said Tuesday that the new death penalty policy will give defense attorneys the opportunity to provide evidence of mitigation factors to the office’s special circumstances committee, which will determine when prosecutors seek death penalty in the case.
It is unclear what actual impact Hochman’s policy shift will have. Gov. Gavin Newsom Suspension of death sentence In California in 2019, states where the party has a healthy advantage among registered voters cannot be overturned as long as Democrats retain control over the legislature and the governor’s office.
Opponents of the death penalty often believe that it has different effects on black and Latino defendants and can cause irreversible errors, pointing to cases nationwide that have been executed nationwide despite serious doubts about the validity of their initial beliefs.
“This decision is a step for Los Angeles County. The death penalty is a cruel and irreversible punishment, racially biased and ineffective,” Los Angeles County public defense lawyer Ricardo Garcia said in a statement. “The death penalty doubles in a system that disproportionately harms people of color and communities.”
