Nick Reiner could face the death penalty in California. Here is why prosecutors say it is possible

Nick Reiner

Nick Reiner, 32, the younger son of director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents. In California, first-degree murder commonly brings a sentence of 25 years to life, meaning a person can become eligible for parole after serving 25 years. What changes the legal ceiling in this case is how the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed the charges, the New York Times reported.

Prosecutors included what California law calls a special circumstance: committing multiple murders. When a special circumstance is attached to a first-degree murder charge, the case becomes eligible for harsher maximum penalties. In practical terms, that means the sentencing options can expand beyond 25 years to life, to include either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole, depending on what prosecutors ultimately seek and what a jury finds.

Special circumstances function as legal add-ons that identify certain types of killings as especially aggravated. California’s penal code lists several such circumstances. Beyond multiple murders, they include allegations such as killing for financial gain, killing a police officer or public official, or killings involving torture. The point of these categories is not to create a separate charge, but to raise the potential punishment if the underlying murder charge is proven.

In other words, the special circumstance does not automatically mean a death sentence. It means prosecutors are legally permitted to ask for it, and a conviction with the special circumstance can allow a judge to impose either death or life without parole, depending on the outcome of later phases of the trial.

California has not carried out an execution since 2006, and Governor Gavin Newsom announced a moratorium on executions soon after taking office. But a moratorium is not the same as repeal. The death penalty remains legal in California, and courts can still impose death sentences under state law.

That creates the unusual reality described by legal experts: a person can be sentenced to death, even if the state is not currently putting people to death. California still has a large death row population, and those sentences remain in place unless changed by courts, clemency, or legislation.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the office has not yet decided whether it will pursue the death penalty in this case. He also said the views of the Reiner family would be considered. That discretion matters because death penalty litigation is expensive, slow, and complex, and prosecutors often weigh factors such as the strength of evidence, the brutality of the crime, and the wishes of surviving relatives before choosing whether to seek the harshest penalty.

Hochman’s approach is being watched closely because he reversed his predecessor’s countywide policy against pursuing the death penalty. He has said he would seek it only in exceedingly rare cases, a standard that leaves room for interpretation in high-profile prosecutions.

Prosecutors also said they intend to add an allegation that Reiner used a deadly weapon, specifically a knife. In California, weapon enhancements can add time to a sentence. Experts often note that such enhancements matter most if a defendant is convicted of a lesser offense rather than the top charge. If a jury were to convict on a lesser count, an enhancement could still lengthen the sentence.

Legal analysts have long argued that the mere possibility of a death sentence can shape how a case moves. In some prosecutions, the threat of the death penalty can increase pressure to accept a plea deal, potentially shortening a case and sparing families and jurors a drawn-out trial. That does not mean a death sentence will be sought or imposed here, but it helps explain why death eligibility becomes a major issue as soon as special circumstances are filed.

For now, the case sits at an early but consequential stage: the charges, as filed, allow the maximum punishment to include death, even as California’s execution moratorium remains in place.