Los Angeles may be set to resume executions for the first time in decades, after District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that county prosecutors will once again be permitted to seek the death penalty.
Why It Matters
The decision to reinstate capital punishment in Los Angeles County marks a significant shift in its criminal justice policies.
What to Know
Hochman ousted George Gascón to become district attorney last year. He was a strong opponent of the death penalty, announcing in one of his first major decisions that his office would no longer seek executions in new or pending cases. 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.
But Hochman has now reversed that ban. The county prosecutorial office said on Monday that the death penalty will be pursued only in the “most egregious” and “exceedingly rare cases” such as school shootings, domestic terror attacks or the killing of a police officer, according to the Associated Press.
Under existing California law, the death penalty can only be pursued in cases where a defendant is charged with murder involving special circumstances, such as multiple homicides or the killing of a law enforcement officer or a witness. If prosecutors decide against seeking the death penalty in these cases, the defendant faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole…