LOS ANGELES District Attorney Nathan Hochman has been criticized by the legal team of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin for comparing his parole u-turn to the Menendez brothers’ murder case.
During a controversial briefing on Monday, Hochman repeatedly referenced the case of Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-Jordanian man found guilty of murdering the U.S. Senator in 1968 for political reasons.
APLyle and Erik Menendez are pushing for release from jail after 35 years but are facing stiff opposition from the authorities[/caption]
Corbis – GettySen. Robert F. Kennedy lies on the floor of the Ambassador Hotel after being shot by Sirhan Sirhan[/caption]
The Mega AgencySirhan’s push for parole was eventually rejected by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022[/caption]
Hochman urged Erik and Lyle Menendez to take “complete responsibility” for the “lies” they have allegedly perpetuated since the infamous killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty, in August 1989.
The brothers, who have spent the last 35 years in prison, have a family desperate for their release, arguing that their rehabilitation is complete.
Hochman, however, argued that the reversal of Sirhan’s parole in 2021 highlighted parallels with the Menendez case, suggesting that releasing Erik and Lyle would not be straightforward.
The new District Attorney described Sirhan’s case as an “instructive” example, claiming that both parties “fell short” of fully admitting their crimes.
However, Sirhan’s lawyers have vehemently criticized Hochman’s comparison, expressing their outrage in a statement to The U.S. Sun.
In an extensive email, attorneys Denise F. Bohdan and Angela Berry recalled that in 2021, their client was recommended for parole because, as the Menendez brothers’ legal team has also argued, he was “rehabilitated and does not present a danger to the community.”
Although the Parole Board agreed, the decision was overturned by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has the authority to free the Menendez brothers but has so far refused to do so.
Bohdan and Berry described the process as “highly politicized,” further alleging bias on the part of Governor Newsom, who has publicly admitted to having a “shrine” to the Kennedys in his home.
“Even setting aside the glaring bias by the Governor against our client, Governor Newsom demonstrated an utter lack of insight into the effects of early trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress on Mr. Sirhan,” the attorneys stated.
They also noted that California is one of only two US states where governors, as political figures, can make parole decisions.
The lawyers criticized Hochman for accusing the Menendez brothers of dishonesty, arguing that “psychological research shows that exposure to trauma can cause lapses in memory, and even suppress memories.”
Erik and Lyle have claimed they were victims of sexual and mental abuse at the hands of their parents, who were murdered in their Beverly Hills mansion.
“Trauma responses can cause a person to fully dissociate – as was the case for Mr. Sirhan. Mr. Sirhan’s formative years were spent in Palestine, living in a war zone, much like what we have recently witnessed there,” continued Bohdan and Berry, who are based in California.
“For any official, whether Governor Newsom or District Attorney Hochman, to demand the recitation of specific details from decades ago, by someone who was severely traumatized in their youth, demonstrates a gross lack of understanding and insight into the effects of trauma and PTSD on memory.”
Earlier this month, Newsom announced that a proposed hearing on March 20 to discuss resentencing the Menendez brothers would be postponed until a full investigation into their rehabilitation claims is completed.
Two weeks ago, Hochman dismissed new evidence – including allegations by former boy band member Roy Rosselló that he was raped by José Menendez – and has now questioned any push for resentencing.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case dates back more than three decades since their parents were found shot to death at their Beverly Hills mansion.
Below is a timeline of the brothers’ case, starting at the gruesome crime scene:
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 – Erik surrenders to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
December 1992 – Murder charges against the brothers are officially filed.
July 20, 1993 – The murder trial, highly publicized on Court TV, begins in Los Angeles with Erik and Lyle each having a separate jury.
January 28, 1994 – The first trial ends with two deadlocked juries.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins with one jury.
March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 22, 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 – Lyle and Erik’s attorney files a habeas corpus petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez in a Peacock docuseries.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024 – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón says his office is reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik’s convictions.
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 – Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
November 25, 2024 – The Menendez brothers appear in court for a status hearing to learn their resentencing hearing is pushed back from December 11 to allow new DA Nathan Hochman more time to review the case.
January 30-31, 2025 – Erik and Lyle’s resentencing hearing was initially set but had to be rescheduled due to the California wildfires.
February 21, 2025 – Hochman officially opposes a new trial for the brothers.
February 26, 2025 – California Governor Gavin Newsom orders the parole board to conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment” of the Menendez brothers.
The brothers hope that if their resentencing request is granted, they would become immediately eligible for parole. However, this would require a new hearing, forcing a retelling of the grisly events of the night of August 20 1989, much to the distress of their family and supporters.
Sirhan’s legal team argue that, rather than reopening old wounds and sparking outrage among Erik and Lyle’s advocates, it would be more constructive to focus on the current risk of violence either party poses.
“Parole qualification is not a memory test,” the attorneys concluded.
“Forcing an inmate to ‘admit’ things they do not recall in order to secure release is a superficial and uninsightful approach to making complex and nuanced parole decisions.
“For Governor Newsom to reverse Mr. Sirhan’s parole, despite the consensus among experts that he is rehabilitated and poses a low risk of danger, was, in our opinion, wrong and a miscarriage of justice.”
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said he would recommend Erik and Lyle for resentencing in October last year.
Hochman, who replaced Gascon shortly after that recommendation, said his office has now revised the initial three-page plea to an extensive 87-page document fully documenting the lies the brothers told after their parents were found dead in their own living room.
ABCJose and Kitty Menendez were gunned down by their sons in April 1989 amid claims of sexual and mental abuse[/caption]
Sirhan Sirhan was just 23 years-old when he shot and killed Robert Kennedy Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
