Los Angeles’ new tough-on-crime District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that his office will immediately start considering the death penalty, but only in the rarest of cases, following a meticulous review process.
Although there is a current statewide moratorium on capital punishment in California, the option still exists in the legal system, allowing prosecutors to pursue capital punishment for convicted criminals.
“I am firmly committed to conducting a thorough assessment of every special circumstance murder case prosecuted in Los Angeles County. This evaluation will involve consultations with the survivors of the murder victims. It will also take into account all mitigating and aggravating factors of each case to ensure that the punishment sought by the Office is just, fair, appropriate, and commensurate with the circumstances,” stated Hochman on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer and District Attorney George Gascon. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Although the murder of a law enforcement officer can be eligible for capital punishment under California law, Gascon had banned line prosecutors from seeking special circumstance allegations, including for gun enhancements and targeting on-duty officers.
Then he shocked the slain deputy’s family by publicly announcing he would not seek the death penalty for suspect Kevin Eduardo Cataneo Salazar, 29, because it “doesn’t serve as a deterrent,” according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Kevin Salazar is seen being taken into custody outside of a home in Palmdale, California on suspicion of killing a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy. (KEYNEWS.TV)
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, which tracks executions around the U.S., COVID-19 killed more death row inmates than the state has executed over the past three decades.
California, which hasn’t executed a condemned inmate since 2006, has the largest death row population in the country, according to the nonprofit.
