Judge rejects new Los Angeles DA’s request to revoke predecessor’s resentencing petition for Menendez brothers

As reported in this Los Angeles Times article, headlined “Menendez brothers to get resentencing after D.A. fails in bid to stop it,” yesterday brough a notable development in a notable state resentencing effort. Here are excerpts from a lengthy article:

An L.A. County judge denied Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman’s bid Friday to revoke a petition to resentence the Menendez brothers that was filed by his predecessor, setting the stage for a hearing that could offer the brothers a path to freedom next week.

Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic denied Hochman’s request after a tense, daylong hearing that saw prosecutors display bloody crime scene photos of the bodies of Jose and Kitty Menendez in a courtroom lined with their relatives, many of whom want their killers, sons Erik and Lyle Menendez, set free.

In October, former Dist. Atty. George Gascón sought to have the brothers resentenced to 50 years to life in prison — a move could have made them eligible for parole as youthful offenders because they carried out the killings before they were 26 years old. After Hochman thrashed Gascón in the November election, he promised to revisit the Menendez case.

Last month, Hochman formally announced his opposition to their release and said he’d ask a judge to rescind Gascón’s petition and only consider his filing as the official position of the district attorney’s office. He focused on the idea that the brothers had not shown proper “insight” into their crimes, but Jesic dismissed that as irrelevant to the resentencing proceedings and said “there was nothing really new” in the analysis of the case offered by Hochman….

Jesic’s ruling on Friday clears the path for a resentencing hearing, which is expected to last at least two days and begin in Van Nuys on Thursday….

While the brothers’ resentencing petition will draw droves of media to a Van Nuys courtroom over the next several weeks, it is not their only potential path to freedom. In addition to their motion for a new trial based on fresh allegations of sexual abuse by their father, Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering the brothers’ application for clemency and directed the state parole board to launch a risk assessment of the brothers.

If they were granted clemency and appeared before the parole board, however, Hochman has vowed to fight their release again.

Some prior related posts:

• Kim Kardashian advocates reconsidering Menendez brothers’ LWOP sentences just as Los Angeles DA begins to do so
• LA District Attorney announces that he will seek resentencing for the Menendez brothers
• Continuing coverage and comment on Menendez brothers’ possible resentencing 
• California Gov to hold off on Menedez clemency decision pending resentencing review by new DA
• New Los Angeles DA asks to withdraw prior DA’s motion for resentencing in Menedez brothers’ case