Posted on 03/25/2025 8:36:32 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman will allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty again in Los Angeles, undoing one of the signature policies of his predecessor, George Gascón.
The move comes as little surprise: Hochman campaigned on the issue almost as soon as he announced his challenge to Gascón in 2023. But it still marks a significant shift in one of the largest prosecutor’s offices in the nation.
Under California law, the death penalty can only be sought in cases where a defendant is accused of murder with special circumstances. That can include multiple homicides or cases where the victim is a law enforcement officer or witness to a crime. If prosecutors do not seek the death penalty in such cases, defendants face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“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 in a statement.
In an interview with The Times the day after he defeated Gascón, Hochman said he would only pursue capital punishment in “rare cases,” such as school shootings, domestic terror attacks or the killing of a police officer.
Hochman said Tuesday the new death penalty policy will give defense attorneys a chance to present evidence of mitigating factors to the office’s Special Circumstances Committee, which will decide when a prosecutor can seek capital punishment in a case.
The committee will be led by Chief Deputy Steve Katz, or a designate of his choosing, as well as three other high-level prosecutors, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
It also needs to be very rare, and very difficult to sentence.
Giving government the power over life and death is most certainly not a good idea.
I wish to God the death penalty was never necessary. I really do.
Maybe Rose Bird will block it.
It also needs to be VERY SWIFT. Languishing in a cell for decades on the taxpayer dime is pointless.
I am very much pro-death penalty and I wholeheartedly agree with you. However, with violent criminal behavior not showing any lessening there does not appear to be a chance of that happening.
“It also needs to be very rare, and very difficult to sentence.”
It has been throughout my life. So serial killers like Richard Speck and Richard Ramirez lived ripe old lives and had all kinds of fun ruling the prison.
Then there is Ted Bundy who murdered some coeds in Florida, after escaping from prison. He finally hit a death penalty state.
Good to hear.
Unlikely since she passed in 1999..
Doesn’t matter. California supreme Court refuses to carry it out. Most death row inmates die of natural causes
I was curious how many remembered her, she was quite the issue at one time.
We ALL do.
At all.
That she was. Good riddance.
The death penalty does not need to be rare. It must be prevalent and noticeable.
Preserving life for the sole purpose of preserving life is costly toward society. Executions must be carried out swiftly absent all the falderal lawyer welfare that drags out the execution for decades.
Society needs the capability to rid its self of criminals
CA Supreme Court is not the problem...
Governor has to sign the warrant for execution...Gavin Newsom stated that he will not sign the warrant while he is Governor...Next CA governor could decide to sign the execution warrant...Gavin Newsom cannot stop the next governor from doing so...Newsom is leaving Sacramento in January 2027...
I agree. I don’t understand all the heart wringing over rapist killers and depraved murderers.
The victims seem to get the short end of the stick. First they are killed and then forgotten while everyone worries about the killers “rights”!
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