The death penalty is no longer off the table in Los Angeles County.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced on Tuesday that he is reversing the policy of his predecessor and will resume seeking the death penalty “only after an extensive and comprehensive review and only in exceedingly rare (murder) cases.”
“Effective immediately, the prior administration’s extreme and categorical policy forbidding prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in any case is rescinded … This new policy recognizes an evolving determination that the death penalty should be restricted to the most egregious sets of circumstances,” the DA’s Office said in a news release.
The prior administration of George Gascón instituted a series of reforms, including halting death penalty prosecutions, eliminating bail for non-violent felonies and misdemeanors, and no longer seeking enhancements for gang-related crimes.
Highly visible incidents of violent crime and retail theft, however, undermined Gascón’s plans, and he lost his reelection bid to Hochman last year.
Gascón also drew a great deal of criticism from crime victims and their families. In a September 2023 incident, Gascón ruled out the death penalty for the man accused of killing Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer – at a news conference that included Clinkunbroomer’s mother and fiancée. Both later expressed shock at the announcement.
Hochman said this new policy will take into account input from both defense counsel and the victims’ families.
“I remain unwaveringly committed to the comprehensive and thorough evaluation of every special circumstance murder case prosecuted in Los Angeles County, in consultation with the murder victim’s survivors and with full input on the mitigating and aggravating factors of each case, to ensure that the punishment sought by the Office is just, fair, fitting, and appropriate,” Hochman said.
But even with Hochman’s announcement, it’s unclear if or when executions would resume. Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted his own moratorium on the death penalty in 2019, and it remains in place.
Travis Schlepp contributed to this report.
