Nick Reiner will not face the death penalty if convicted of killing his parents, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced Tuesday.
That leaves life without the possibility of parole as the most severe sentence he could receive.
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Reiner has pleaded not guilty to charges that he killed his parents, director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, at their Los Angeles home in December.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the decision followed a review of the case and consultations with the family, prosecutors and law enforcement.
The decision narrows the possible punishment in a case that has already drawn intense public attention because of the Reiner family’s prominence and the nature of the allegations. The indictment was unsealed in August.
Reiner faces two murder counts.
He remains in jail without bond, and no trial date has been set.
Another dispute centers on the sealed grand jury record. Hochman said Reiner’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, want the transcripts kept private because they say releasing details of their parents’ killings would cause more trauma.
Prosecutors have told the court they do not believe releasing the records would harm the investigation or Reiner’s right to a fair trial. Hochman said the judge will decide whether the transcripts become public. Reiner was due back in court Tuesday for a hearing on whether to release those transcripts.
California still has inmates on death row, but executions have been halted under a moratorium Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed in 2019. The state has not executed anyone in 20 years.
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