John Jefferson
Two Los Angeles County prosecutors who advocated for the Menendez brothers’ release from prison claim they were retaliated against by new Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Los Angeles County prosecutors Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford are seeking $5.25 million each in damages, according to filings obtained by Fox News Digital. They claim their careers and reputations have been affected by their department transfers at the end of last year.
The pair both worked in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office under former DA George Gascón, who lost his re-election bid in November to Hochman, and publicly supported the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez. Last October, Theberge and Lunsford drafted the 57-page petition arguing that the brothers had been rehabilitated. They also appeared at the Oct. 24 press conference, when then-DA Gascón announced he would ask a court to resentence the brothers.
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Following the change at the top, the pair say they experienced swift retaliation and were promptly demoted.
“They were demoted only a couple weeks after the new administration came into office,” Justin Shegerian, the attorney representing Lunsford and Theberge, told People magazine. “So their demotion thereafter made them feel like they were being retaliated against for their advocating for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers. They’re still employed, but, of course, their careers have been totally derailed.”
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Lunsford, the filing said, was “stripped of all supervisory responsibilities.” He was reassigned as of Dec. 14 as a calendar attorney in Department T of the Norwalk Courthouse, “a position he had held years earlier with no opportunities for promotion or advancement,” the filing said.
Theberge was sent back to the alternate public defender’s office, which the filing described as “a clear demotion.”
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The Los Angeles Times noted that it is not uncommon for a shift in the staff when a new DA takes office, but Lunsford and Theberge claimed that their reassignments were discriminatory.
In a statement obtained by Variety, the Menendez family expressed their support for Theberge and Lunsford.
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“The decision to remove these dedicated prosecutors from the case, however, underscored exactly what we feared, that political influences might overshadow justice,” the family said. “D.A. Hochman campaigned on a promise to remove politics from prosecutorial decisions and to carefully weigh the nuances and facts of each case under his review. We continue to hold on to hope that he will honor this commitment as he considers his recommendation for Erik and Lyle’s resentencing.”
Hochman has yet to say whether he will back the work of his predecessor – but said he would review the case in detail.
The infamous case dates back to 1989 when Lyle, 21, and Erik, 18, fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion.
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During their initial trial, the defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father. Prosecutors, however, argued that their motive was financial gain. A resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers begins on March 20.
Shegerian alleged that Theberge and Lunsford experienced “politically motivated” retaliation.
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“Nancy and Brock are committed public servants and accomplished attorneys who followed the law — the law they believed required them to advocate for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers,” Shegerian told Fox News Digital. “The harassment and retaliation that followed was politically motivated, illegal, and devastating.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for comment.
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