LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced on November 12, 2026, that his office fully supports a legal challenge to Governor Gavin Newsom's blanket commutation of all 548 California death row sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, prosecutors announced.
Read the Los Angeles County District Attorney release: https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/district-attorney-hochman-backs-legal-challenge-against-governor-s-blanket-commutation
The challenge was brought by the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, according to the release.
District Attorney Hochman said the California Constitution grants the governor clemency authority, according to the release.
548 Sentences, 382 Supreme Court Cases, And Los Angeles County Inmates
Approximately 382 of the 548 cases involve individuals convicted of more than one felony and cannot be commuted without majority approval from the California Supreme Court, according to the release.
Los Angeles County accounts for more than 150 of the condemned inmates affected by the commutation, according to the release.
The release links to a list of 162 Los Angeles County murderers intended for clemency under the Governor's executive order.
Those affected include Chester Turner, convicted of 14 murders, and Michael Gargiulo, convicted of two murders and an attempted third, according to the release.
"We stand firmly with the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in challenging this arbitrary commutation that sidelines victims' families and disregards the will of California voters, juries and judges," District Attorney Hochman said, according to the release.
"Contrary to the Governor's assertion, life without the possibility of parole no longer guarantees that you will spend your life in prison," District Attorney Hochman said, according to the release.
Individual Review, Victim Families, And Voter Decisions
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Over roughly 20 months in office, District Attorney Hochman has personally reviewed more than 50 death-penalty-eligible cases, examining the facts and applicable law and engaging with victims' families before making a determination, according to the release.
To date, the death penalty has not been applied in any of those cases after those reviews, according to the release.
California voters rejected ballot measures to repeal the death penalty in both 2012 and 2016, according to the release.
The release cited the 1996 life-without-parole sentences of Erik and Lyle Menendez as an example, stating that the State Legislature later changed the rules to give them the possibility of parole.
Supreme Court Review, A Sacramento Press Conference, And What Happens Next
The California Supreme Court is now reviewing the constitutionality and scope of the Governor's request, including the separate review processes required for multiple-felony offenders such as Richard Allen Davis, Chester Turner and Michael Gargiulo, according to the release.
The District Attorney's Office urged the Court to uphold individualized justice and reject mass clemency, according to the release.
Kathy Cady, director of the Bureau of Victim Services for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, joined the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation at a press conference on November 12, 2026, at 1 p.m. on the West Side Steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, according to the release.
She stood alongside Crime Victims United, Crime Survivors, law enforcement representatives, prosecutors, and murder victims' family members to oppose the mass commutation, according to the release.
Anyone with information about a crime in Los Angeles County can contact their local law enforcement agency or the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Sources Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office — Official News Release, November 12, 2026: https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/district-attorney-hochman-backs-legal-challenge-against-governor-s-blanket-commutation
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Published: Nov 13, 2026. No major post-publication update has been logged.
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