Los Angeles
CNN
—
Los Angeles County’s district attorney said Thursday that a judge will recommend that brothers Lyle and Eric Menendez face resentencing nearly 30 years after they were convicted of murdering their parents — a recommendation that would make them eligible for immediate parole.
“After very carefully reviewing all the arguments from people on both sides of this equation, I’ve come to where I believe the sentence is appropriate under the law, and I’m going to recommend that to the court tomorrow,” District Attorney George Gascon said. At an afternoon news conference in Los Angeles.
The brothers have been living life without the possibility of parole since being convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder in the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, at their California mansion. Gascón’s decision to recommend a review was the culmination of a review that came in 2023 after defense attorneys said there was new evidence pointing to abuse by their father — an hour before he announced it, he said.
“I believe they have paid their debt to society and this system provides a vehicle for the parole board to review their case, and if the board agrees with my assessment … they will be released accordingly,” Gascon said before a packed house. A room that includes multiple mediums and family members.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge will decide whether to resentence the brothers, Gascon’s office. He said. Gascon said he would make his recommendation to the court on Friday, but a date for the hearing has not been set, his office said. Nancy Theberge, deputy director of Gascon’s prosecution division, expects the trial to be completed within 30 to 45 days.
Gascon He said he supports the resentment toward the brothers — with the possibility of parole — which usually means 50 years to life in prison. But because the crimes occurred when the brothers were under 26, they are eligible for juvenile parole under California law.
“We are confident that the brothers have been rehabilitated and will be safe to reintegrate into our society, but they have paid their dues, not just for the crimes they committed, but for all the other things they have done to improve the lives of many,” Gascon told a news conference, adding that men have formed groups to deal with untreated trauma and physical trauma. Addresses how to assist disabled prisoners.
The brothers are “model inmates by all accounts,” Gascon said in an interview with CNN late Thursday after announcing his decision.
“Not only have they worked on their self-improvement, but they’ve done a lot of work to improve the lives of those around them, and that part is extraordinary,” Gascon told CNN. “I believe they have served enough time.”
One of the brothers’ attorneys said his team was “hopeful” the decision would one day allow the men to live outside prison.
“We are grateful that the district attorney recognized not only the extraordinary contributions Eric and Lyle made while incarcerated, but also the role that sexual abuse played in their actions,” attorney Cliff Gardner told CNN.
The retrial of the case comes more than 35 years after Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed in their Beverly Hills home. Their sons, Lyle and Eric, who were 21 and 18 at the time, were arrested a year later, in 1990, and charged with first-degree murder.
At their high-profile trial decades ago – one of the first to be televised – the brothers did not deny killing their parents. However, they argued that they should not be found guilty as they acted in self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their father.
The first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on the charges. At their second hearing, much of the defense’s evidence of sexual abuse was excluded. The brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.
After lawyers for the Menendez brothers filed a habeas corpus petition in 2023, Gascon retrialed the case. California law Impeachment that the court may consider punishments in comparable cases. The judge may consider whether the defendants have suffered psychological or physical abuse, whether they are rehabilitated, and whether they are a danger to society.
Among the new evidence, the 2023 petition asked the court to consider: the affidavit of former Menudo Boy band member Roy Rossello, who accused Jose Menendez of sexually assaulting him in the 1980s. Prosecutors also said a letter Eric Menendez wrote to a relative months before the murders indicated the abuse he suffered.
The defense asked the court to vacate the brothers’ conviction and sentence, or allow discovery and evidentiary hearings.
The brothers’ story has taken on new interest following the September release of the Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story,” co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Netflix released a documentary about the Menendez case this month in which the two discuss what led up to the murders.
Gascon, who is campaigning for re-election next month on a platform that includes sentencing reform, told CNN this month that times have changed in how the public and the courts treat victims of sexual abuse.
“There’s no doubt that a jury today would look at this case very differently than a jury did 35 years ago,” he said.
‘Brave and necessary,’ says Jose Menendez’s daughter-in-law
Asked about mounting criticism from protesters who suggested the Menendez brothers’ reconsideration was a political move, “there’s nothing political about it,” Gascon said, adding that more than 300 protests have taken place in the county since he took office in December 2020. Including 28 for murder.
Celebrity and criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian has been vocal about her support for the brothers and thanked Gascon for “righting a significant wrong.”
“Your commitment to truth and honesty is commendable,” she wrote in a statement on Instagram Stories. “Even when guilt is not in question, this case highlights the importance of challenging decisions and seeking the truth.”
Jose Menendez’s niece Anamaria Barrault called Gascon’s decision “courageous and necessary.”
“Today is a day of hope for our family,” he said Thursday. “Together we can make sure Eric and Lyle get the justice they deserve and finally come home.
