Nathan Hochman: Why National Remembrance Day for Homicide Victims matters

Today, September 25, is National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims. The purpose of this day is to focus on the impact that murder has on families and our communities and honor the work of organizations that provide services to families, individuals and communities coping with homicide-related deaths.

I have had the honor to get to know many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children of murder victims. I have met with groups such as Justice for Murdered Children, Parents of Murdered Children, Justice for Homicide Victims and Crime Survivors Resource Center that provide necessary services and advocacy. I have been to and participated in events to raise awareness of the devastation that murder brings to families and seen the displays of empty shoes of murder victims symbolizing the lives that were cut short.  I have had the privilege of seeing the photographs of infants, children, teens and others whose lives were ended by violence.

I am proud to stand with these families and groups and pledge my support to seeking the full measure of justice they deserve if I am elected as the next district attorney.

Parents and other relatives of murder victims are part of a grief club to which no one wants to belong. These survivors band together because no one else can understand their pain and anguish. They comfort each other on the loved one’s “heavenly” birthday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and other difficult anniversaries. They support each other in court. Some have found strength and courage to start nonprofits in their loved one’s name as they try to find a way to make sense of the tragedy they live with every day and ensure their loved one is not forgotten. 

Within moments of taking an oath to follow the law which includes treating victims with respect, Los Angeles County District Attorney Gascon adopted a wide range of pro-criminal policies and abandoned murder victims’ families – and he’s continued to do so for the past four years. He refuses to meet with them, instead calling them “uneducated” when they questioned his policies that have been determined to be unlawful.  

His policies have retraumatized the families and friends of homicide victims. Gascon’s priority has always been on criminal defendants – even though they already have their own attorney representing them. With Gascon as D.A., criminal defendants end up with two advocates: defense counsel and the district attorney.

Gascon abandoned homicide victims’ families by ending a decades-long policy that the D.A. would attend parole hearings, callously leaving these families to fend for themselves. He enacted policies that do not allow prosecutors to charge appropriate gun allegations – contributing to our epidemic of gun violence. He refuses to allow any enhancements to be filed when the crime was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang. He has tried to abolish the Three Strikes Law, which targets the worst of the worst criminals, something defense attorneys have been trying to accomplish (unsuccessfully) for 30 years.  

I promise to uphold the law.  I pledge to champion victims’ rights and consider their concerns in every decision I make.  I will restore independence, honesty and integrity to the criminal and juvenile justice systems.  I will protect the safety of our communities.

Today, on this important day, I invite you to join me in remembering the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County, honoring the communities that still grieve the loss of someone who was murdered, and support the many agencies that help victims and provide them with resources to heal.  

Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney General and President of the L.A. City Ethics Commission, is a candidate for Los Angeles County District Attorney.