Los Angeles County's new attorney reintroduced the death penalty

Prosecutors in Los Angeles County will again be able to opt for the death penalty. So ruled Nathan Hochman, who was elected on a tough-on-crime platform. The new district attorney reversed a series of progressive policies promoted by his predecessor, George Gascón, including the moratorium on the death penalty.

According to a statement released by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, the death penalty could be used "only after extensive and thorough review and only in extremely rare (murder) cases," restricting it to "the most egregious circumstances."

"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administration’s extreme and categorical policy forbidding prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in any case is rescinded.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," they added.

Under California law, prosecutors can only seek the death penalty for murder in very specific circumstances, including multiple homicides, murder of a police officer or murder of a witness to another crime.

Hochman, who served as assistant attorney general for the Tax Division during part of George W. Bush's tenure, defeated Gascón with 59% of the vote in the 2024 election. During the campaign, he referred to the county as "Gotham City" because of its "rampant crime." He was also the Republican nominee for attorney general in 2022, losing to Democrat Rob Bonta.

"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.

Los Angeles County is the most populous county in California, with 9,663,345 residents, more than twice as many as the second most populous county, San Diego.