Efforts by the Menendez brothers to be released from prison hit another roadblock this week when Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said he would not recommend resentencing because he believes they have not taken full responsibility for the murders of their parents and that their self-defense claims are a litany of “lies.”
Erik and Lyle Menendez have maintained that the shotgun slayings of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989 were committed in self-defense. The brothers were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Hochman, who took office in December, asked the court to withdraw the resentencing motion filed last year by then-District Attorney George Gascón, who advocated for the brothers to receive a sentence that would make them eligible for parole.
“The District Attorney’s Office is prepared to proceed forward with the hearing on the Court’s initiation of resentencing proceedings for the Menendez brothers but we are requesting that the prior District Attorney’s motion for resentencing be withdrawn,” Hochman said in a statement.
Speaking at a news conference Monday, Hochman said his decision hinged on whether the brothers had exhibited “insight and complete responsibility” into lies told during their original trial, including their original claims that they did not kill their parents.
Hochman, who opposed the brothers’ request for a new trial last month, said he would reconsider his position if they showed an “unequivocal admission that they have lied to everyone for the past 30 years.”
Erik and Lyle Menendez first claimed they were innocent in the killings, but during their trials, they admitted responsibility, and their attorneys argued they should not be convicted of premeditated murder, claiming the siblings carried out the killings because they feared for their lives after enduring sexual abuse by their father.
Despite the DA’s opposition, the court can still proceed with a resentencing hearing that is scheduled to begin March 20.
Family members of the Menendez brothers slammed the DA’s opposition, according to a statement provided to CNN.
“District Attorney Hochman made it clear today he is holding Erik, Lyle, and our family hostage,” a statement from the family-led Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition reads.
“He appears fixated on their trauma-driven response to the killings in 1989 with blinders on to the fact they were repeatedly abused, feared for their lives, and have atoned for their actions.”
In the statement, the family accused Hochman of having political motivations for his resistance and slammed the prosecutors’ “not-so-veiled insistence they were not sexually abused.”
“He instead sent a message to every young boy who’s the victim of abuse that they should not come forward or tell your truth. Because he’s demanding as much out of Erik and Lyle right now.”
The brothers, who are now in their 50s, began their bid for freedom in recent years after new evidence of their father’s sexual abuse emerged, and they have the support of most of their extended family.
In October, Gascón recommended the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for parole. Hochman called his predecessor's recommendation a “desperate political move.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month ordered the state parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if they were released.
The brothers have another pathway to freedom, the Associated Press reports. They have also submitted a clemency plea to Newsom, who has said he would not decide until Hochman reviewed the case.
