LOS ANGELES — In a reversal of Los Angeles County’s stance on capital punishment, recently elected District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Tuesday that his office will resume seeking the death penalty in certain murder cases, rescinding a moratorium implemented under his predecessor.
The announcement marks a departure from years of reform-driven prosecutorial policy and sets the stage for renewed debate over the death penalty’s morality, cost, and racial inequities.
Hochman’s policy change comes despite California’s ongoing moratorium on executions, first announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019. The state hasn’t executed anyone since 2006, with hundreds languishing on death row as legal battles and public opposition stall the use of capital punishment.
Hochman’s move will likely rekindle those battles—and critics say it signals a return to costly and racially-biased practices that have failed to deliver either justice or deterrence.
Under Hochman’s new policy, prosecutors will now be allowed to pursue the death penalty in “exceedingly rare cases” following what he describes as “extensive and comprehensive review.”
The District Attorney’s office says defense counsel and victims’ families will have more input in these decisions, but Hochman made clear that death sentences are back on the table in Los Angeles—a county historically known for sending more people to death row than nearly any other jurisdiction in the country.
“This change is not just symbolic—it’s a dangerous step backward,” said a legal analyst and criminal justice reform advocate. “The death penalty is exorbitantly expensive, riddled with racial bias, and has never been shown to deter crime. California has recognized this reality, which is why the state hasn’t executed anyone in nearly two decades.”
Studies have consistently shown that capital punishment cases cost taxpayers far more than life imprisonment, largely due to the years—sometimes decades—of appeals and specialized trials required. A 2011 study by the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review estimated that California taxpayers have spent $4 billion on the death penalty since 1978, while carrying out just 13 executions.
Racial disparities are also stark: in California, people of color—particularly Black and Latino men—are far more likely to face death sentences, especially when the victim is white. Critics argue that Hochman’s policy change ignores this troubling history.
Former DA George Gascón, who implemented the prior policy forbidding death penalty prosecutions, had made his position clear.
“If I thought that the death penalty was going to stop people from committing brutal murders, I would seek it. But we know that it won’t,” Gascón said in 2023. “The reality is that the death penalty doesn’t serve as a deterrent, and the death penalty does not bring people back.”
During Gascón’s tenure, Los Angeles County joined a growing national trend of elected prosecutors refusing to seek death sentences, arguing that resources should be spent on proven public safety measures rather than symbolic punishments that fail to deliver justice.
Hochman defended his decision, calling it a balanced approach. “I remain unwaveringly committed to the comprehensive and thorough evaluation of every special circumstance murder case… to ensure that the punishment sought by the Office is just, fair, fitting, and appropriate,” he said.
Still, critics say Hochman’s policy is out of step with both public sentiment and evolving legal standards. California voters have twice rejected ballot measures to abolish the death penalty but have simultaneously shown growing discomfort with its application—supporting the 2016 measure to speed up appeals but cheering the governor’s moratorium.
“In a moment when the nation is reckoning with the failures of the criminal legal system, this move doubles down on one of its most broken and unjust elements,” a critic said. “Rather than leading us toward meaningful reform, Hochman is dragging Los Angeles back into the death penalty quagmire.”
