Lyle and Erik Menendez, the two brothers whose grisly 1989 murder of their wealthy parents was the subject of a recent Netflix series, could be released from prison after a US prosecutor said Thursday he would ask a judge to look again at their sentences.
The pair were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the shotgun slayings in the family’s swanky Beverly Hills home, following a blockbuster trial that gripped the United States and grabbed headlines around the world.
Prosecutors at the time argued that the two had plotted to murder Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez in a bid to hasten a $14 million inheritance.
But supporters said they were the victims of sustained sexual and physical abuse, and had snapped after years of suffering at the hands of a tyrannical father.
“After a very careful review of all the arguments… I believe that under the law, resentencing is appropriate, and I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon told reporters Thursday.
Gascon said his recommendation would be that the brothers be resentenced for murder, a charge that carries a sentence of 50 years to life.
“Since they were under 26 years of age at the time that these crimes occurred, they would be eligible for parole immediately.”
Gascon, who is facing a tough re-election battle in November, said while he did not condone the violent murders the Menendez brothers — aged 19 and 21 at the time — carried out, he believed there were specific circumstances.
“If you get abused, the right path is to call the police, seek help. But I understand also how sometimes people get desperate.”
– ‘Compassionate’ –
Erik Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, have served nearly 35 years in prison since their convictions.
Their cousin Karen Vander Molen hailed Gascon’s “compassionate” announcement.
“We know this wasn’t an easy decision, but it is the right one,” she said.
“This is about truth, justice and healing. It is time for Lyle and Erik to come home.”
She said the decision “gives us all hope the truth will finally be heard and Erik and Lyle can begin to heal from the horrors of their past.”
It will be up to a judge to make the final determination on Gascon’s recommendation, which he acknowledged was not unanimous even within his own department.
It was not immediately clear when a hearing on the matter might be held, although Gascon said his office would file the court papers on Friday.
Legal experts told local media the brothers would not be leaving prison anytime soon, with a long legal process still ahead.
– Global headlines –
Their initial trial, starting in 1993, was one of the first televised US murder cases and made daily headlines around the world. It ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury, but they were found guilty in a second trial.
Last year, attorneys filed a court petition setting out new evidence which they said demonstrates Jose Menendez’s history of sexual abuse.
Among the new evidence was a letter Erik wrote to a cousin months before the murders, saying “I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening… Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.”
Roy Rossello, a former member of 1980s boy band Menudo, said in a documentary series released last year that he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez in the 1980s.
Earlier this month Gascon told reporters he had “a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us.”
His comments came two weeks after the release of Netflix crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The streaming giant also put out a documentary film, “The Menendez Brothers,” last week.
Gascon said the Netflix show resulted in a large number of calls to his office about the case.
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