Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced today that Erik and Lyle Menendez will be entering a resentencing process. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for the murder of their parents.
Now it will be up to a parole board to decide whether the Menendez brothers receive a new sentence. Gascón is recommending life in prison but with the possibility of parole.
Considering that they were found guilty of two murders, that would mean that they would be able to apply for parole after 50 years in jail, but because both of them were under 26 years old when they committed their crimes, they could get released as soon as the parole board decides. It could be immediately after reviewing the case.
The LA County District Attorney said that he would be entering the resentencing case tomorrow, October 25th.
What changed?
Gascón, a progressive Cuban-American, is up for reelection right now and has openly criticized how the case was handled and decided to review the twin petitions from the brother's lawyers to either allow a resentencing process or grant habeas corpus.
The petitions have been in his office since the beginning of last year, but public attention on the case after the Netflix hit series 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' increased pressure for a decision.
The Menendez brothers underwent two trials. The first resulted in a hung jury, during which Erik and Lyle testified about the sexual abuse they claimed to have suffered at the hands of their father, José Menéndez. However, in the second trial, the brothers did not testify, and the allegations of sexual abuse were not permitted as part of the defense.
Gascón stated that societal views on sexual abuse have evolved significantly over the past 35 years, and a jury today might have reached a different, more lenient verdict. He also highlighted the work the brothers have done in prison to rehabilitate themselves an others.
"This is not common for inmates without a possibility of getting out," Gascón said.
Additionally, two new pieces of evidence are being considered: a letter Erik wrote to his cousin Andy Cano two years before the murders, in which he mentioned the abuse, and testimony from former Menudo member Roy Roselló, who accused José Menéndez of raping him when he was 13 years old.
The support of family members
The Menendez brothers have accepted they killed their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez. However, most family members on both sides have also asked for Erik and Lyle's release, given the circumstances that led to the killings.
For many years, I have struggled to understand what happened to my sister's family. It was a nightmare that none of us could have imagined," said Joan Andersen Vandermolen, Kitty's sister. "As details of Lyle and Erik's abuse emerged, it became clear that their actions—though tragic—were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive their father's unimaginable cruelty."
"I beg the DA's office to end our years of suffering and grant our family the release of Lyle and Erik. Thirty-five years is too long. I ask God to let me live long enough to see my nephews again and hug them one more time," expressed José's sister Terry Baralt in a statement. She could not travel from Tampa, where she resides, due to health issues.
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