LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office will continue considering the death penalty in qualifying murder cases despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he intends to commute the sentences of California’s 548 death row prisoners to life without the possibility of parole.
In a Nov. 5 statement, Hochman acknowledged the governor’s constitutional authority to commute existing death sentences but emphasized that the action would not eliminate capital punishment under California law.
“The Governor has chosen to commute existing death sentences to life without the possibility of parole, as is within his constitutional power,” Hochman said. “But that power does not extend to eliminating the death penalty. Only the Legislature or the voters can do that.”
Hochman noted that California voters rejected ballot initiatives to repeal the death penalty in 2012 and 2016, leaving capital punishment legally available for qualifying offenses.
“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,” Hochman said.
His statement reflects the continuing legal and political debate over capital punishment in California, where executions have been suspended for years but prosecutors retain the authority to seek death sentences.
In his Nov. 5 letter to Californians, Newsom defended his planned commutations, arguing that the death penalty is incompatible with the state’s values and that its administration has been marked by racial disparities, wrongful convictions and excessive costs.
Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. His latest proposal would go further by replacing existing death sentences with life imprisonment without parole.
The proposed commutations would not release incarcerated people, overturn their convictions or prevent prosecutors from seeking death sentences in future cases.
The governor’s clemency authority is also subject to a constitutional limitation. Under Article V, Section 8 of the California Constitution, commutations for people convicted of two or more felonies require a recommendation from at least four justices of the California Supreme Court.
The governor’s office has identified 382 cases requiring that additional review.
Hochman’s position is consistent with changes he made to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office.
In March 2025, he rescinded former District Attorney George Gascón’s policy prohibiting prosecutors from seeking the death penalty.
Gascón had adopted the prohibition in 2020 as part of broader changes intended to reduce the use of lengthy prison sentences and capital punishment.
Hochman replaced the prohibition with a policy allowing prosecutors to consider death sentences following an extensive review of cases involving murder with special circumstances.
Under the policy, the death penalty is reserved for exceptionally rare cases involving what the office considers the most egregious circumstances.
The review process includes consideration of aggravating and mitigating evidence, opportunities for defense attorneys to present information and consultation with surviving family members of murder victims.
Hochman also established a requirement that prosecutors assess death penalty cases under a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard at every stage of the office’s internal review, rather than relying solely on the probable cause standard generally used for initial charging decisions.
That internal requirement does not replace the burden of proof applicable at trial.
The policy allows prosecutors to seek life without parole in special-circumstance murder cases without pursuing a death sentence.
In September, Hochman announced that his office would not seek the death penalty in the prosecution arising from the killings of Rob and Michelle Reiner.
According to the district attorney’s announcement, the decision followed consideration of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and consultation with the victims’ family.
The decision illustrated how Hochman’s policy permits capital punishment while requiring an individualized assessment before prosecutors seek it.
Newsom’s proposed commutations also raise questions about the role of the death penalty in plea negotiations.
Capital punishment can provide prosecutors with leverage in negotiations when defendants face the possibility of execution and are offered alternatives such as life imprisonment without parole.
A study examining capital prosecutions in Georgia between 1993 and 2000 found that the availability of the death penalty increased the probability of a plea agreement by approximately 20 to 25 percentage points.
The findings concern a different state’s legal system and an earlier period, and they do not establish how Newsom’s planned commutations would affect plea negotiations in California.
Because the death penalty would remain legally available, prosecutors could continue seeking capital sentences even if all current death sentences were commuted.
However, the prospect of future executive clemency could become a consideration in negotiations between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The relationship between clemency and plea decisions has arisen in other capital cases.
In State v. Clark, a 1989 New Mexico Supreme Court case, the defendant sought to withdraw a guilty plea after circumstances changed regarding the possibility of a gubernatorial commutation.
According to the court’s decision, the defendant had received advice concerning the possibility that then-Gov. Toney Anaya would commute a death sentence.
When the anticipated clemency did not occur, the defendant challenged his plea. The court rejected his attempt to withdraw it.
The case illustrates how expectations about executive clemency can enter a defendant’s decision-making, although its circumstances do not establish how California defendants or prosecutors would respond to Newsom’s announcement.
The proposed commutations also carry potential financial implications for California’s criminal justice system.
Capital prosecutions generally involve more extensive litigation than noncapital murder cases, including lengthy jury selection, separate penalty proceedings, automatic appeals and post-conviction review.
A Death Penalty Information Center summary cites research estimating that California spent approximately $1.94 billion on capital pretrial and trial proceedings between 1978 and 2011, with additional expenditures associated with appeals and habeas corpus litigation.
The state’s Habeas Corpus Resource Center also documents the continuing legal work associated with capital cases.
Commuting existing death sentences could reduce some future capital-specific litigation expenses, although the financial impact would depend on how individual cases proceed and whether other legal challenges remain.
Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, who supports Newsom’s proposal, argued that the change could produce substantial long-term savings.
“By commuting death sentences, Governor Newsom will save California taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the long term,” Becton said, according to CNN.
Other prosecutors have criticized the proposal, citing the interests of victims’ families and the decisions of juries that imposed death sentences.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer was among those who publicly opposed the planned commutations, according to the Associated Press.
Hochman, meanwhile, emphasized that his office would continue enforcing California’s existing capital punishment laws unless they are changed by lawmakers or voters.
“If the Legislature or the voters remove the death penalty, we will follow that law just as faithfully,” Hochman said.
He also addressed the families of murder victims, saying they deserved a justice system that follows the law and provides fairness and due process.
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