New Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman Speaks Out on the Menendez Brothers' Fight for Freedom

LOS ANGELES — While the call for the Menendez brothers to be released from jail, Los Angeles County’s incoming district attorney says he must review a lot of evidence before voicing his support.

Nathan Hochman won the election for DA last week, defeating incumbent George Gascón in a landslide. He will take office in December. The elections came weeks after Gascón announced his recommendation to re-punish the Menendez brothers and will be immediately eligible for parole.

Hochman questioned the motivation behind Gascón’s decision to support the conviction so close to the election.

“Part of the problem with the timing of Gascón’s decision is that there is a cloud over that credibility. Is it a fair decision, or was it just a political ploy?” Hochman said.

“There will be no cloud in the sky about whatever decision I make,” he added.

Gascón denied that his decision was politically motivated, telling ABC News: “I believe they should be released and they should be released properly within the law.”

“I base my decision on the review of 30 years of information about their conduct, as well as a very thorough understanding of what they were convicted of and the elements of the crime,” Gascón said. “So my decision was based on the right thing.”

The infamous case dates back to 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills home. The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, but prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

Lyle, left, and Erik, right, on April 12, 1991

APP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in a mistrial. In 1996, after the second trial – in which the judge rejected much of the evidence of sexual abuse – the brothers were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole.

As Gascón’s call for the brothers’ resentencing moves through the courts, Hochman — who will take power on Dec. 2 — said he plans to review the new alleged evidence, trial transcripts, confidential prison records and interviews with family , lawyers and law enforcement officers.

“What these files say is too important an issue to delegate to anyone else. I have to do the work myself,” he told ABC News.

The next hearing in the criminal case is on December 11. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, said he will “work as quickly as possible,” adding: “If we need some additional time to formulate our position, I will take the court.”

“I’m not going to ask for a postponement just for the sake of the postponement,” he added. “We will ask for the minimum amount of time necessary to do this work because we owe it to the Menendez brothers, we owe it to the victims’ family members, we owe it to the public to get this decision right to get.”

The brothers’ case returned to the spotlight this fall with the release of a scripted series and documentary by Netflix — and now a new generation is calling for their release.

“If you decide this case based solely on reviewing a Netflix documentary, you are doing a disservice to the Menendez brothers, the victims’ family members and the public,” Hochman said.

The Menendez brothers have three possible paths to freedom.

One path is through resentment. Gascón announced last month that he was recommending that the brothers be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and that they should instead be convicted of murder, which amounts to a prison sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes, the new sentence would make them immediately eligible for parole, Gascón said.

The district attorney’s office said sentencing recommendations take into account factors such as the defendants’ age, psychological trauma or physical abuse that contributed to the commission of the crime and their rehabilitation in prison. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

The second path is the brothers’ request for clemency, which they did submitted to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

The third path is their habeas corpus petition, which was filed last year for a review of new evidence not presented at trial.

One piece of evidence is allegations from a former boy band member who revealed last year that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

The second piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders, detailing his alleged abuse. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse during the trial, but the letter – which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony – was not found until several years ago, according to the brothers’ lawyer.

The next hearing on the habeas corpus petition is scheduled for November 25.

Alex Stone, Jenna Harrison and Ashley Riegle of ABC News contributed to this report.