Hochman emphasized that while the Governor has the constitutional power to commute sentences, only the Legislature or voters can eliminate the death penalty in California.
Press Release: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Reproduced in full from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman's Statement on Governor Newsom’s Decision to Commute Death Sentences
LOS ANGELES, When I took the oath of office, I swore to enforce all of California's laws as enacted by the Legislature and the voters.
The Governor has chosen to commute existing death sentences to life without the possibility of parole, as is within his constitutional power. But that power does not extend to eliminating the death penalty. Only the Legislature or the voters can do that. Californians have been asked on two separate ballot initiatives to abolish the death penalty and both times they have chosen to keep it for the most serious crimes.
Until the law is changed, my office will continue to evaluate every death penalty-eligible case with the rigor, care and restraint these decisions demand. As always, we will be guided by the facts, the law and the evidence. If the Legislature or the voters remove the death penalty, we will follow that law just as faithfully.
My thoughts today are with the families of victims, who deserve a justice system that honors the law as it is written and pursues it with fairness and due process.
