Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman is allowing county prosecutors to seek the death penalty again, reversing a ban put in place by his predecessor and making good on a campaign promise.
The county prosecutorial office said Monday the death penalty will be pursued only in “exceedingly rare cases” and the “most egregious.”
“I remain unwaveringly committed to the comprehensive and thorough evaluation of every special circumstance murder case prosecuted in Los Angeles County,” Hochman said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium on the death penalty in 2019, and the last prisoner executed in the state was in 2016. The governor’s term ends in January 2027 and he isn’t eligible for reelection.
Under the new policy in LA, defense attorneys will be given opportunities to share information about defendants when the death penalty is under consideration, and survivors left behind by murder victims will also be able to share their views.
Removing the death penalty was one of the first changes implemented by former DA George Gascón when he took office in 2020. In a special directive, he called it “inextricably intertwined” with racism and said executions did not deter crime. He also said his office would conduct a thorough review of all condemned inmates from LA County with the goal of lifting their death penalty sentences.
Gascón was ousted by Hochman last year, reflecting growing discontent in the state with progressive district attorneys and criminal justice policy changes.
During his campaign, Hochman vowed to consider the death penalty for extreme cases as long as it was state law.
California currently has 592 condemned inmates, with 206 of them from LA County. A majority have been transferred from the former death row at San Quentin State Prison to be housed with the general population at other maximum security prisons.
