Menendez Brothers Case: Erik and Lyle Menendez Resentencing Hearing for 1989 Double Murder Could Take Months to Schedule

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Friday officially filed paperwork recommending a new sentence for Lyle and Erik Menendez. However, there is still a long way to go before the brothers can be released.

A judge will have to agree with Gascon’s recommendation and then a parole board will have to approve it.

But the Parole Hearing Board typically schedules hearings no sooner than six months in advance.

Gov. Gavin Newsom would also have the power to reject the board’s decision.

Erik Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center in San Diego for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Mary. Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

Gascón said prosecutors recommended that the brothers’ life without parole sentence be rescinded and that they be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Because of their ages at the time of the crime, such a sentence would make them potentially eligible for parole as youthful offenders, even though they have only served about 35 years behind bars.

It will be up to a judge to decide whether to resentence the couple. Prosecutors are expected to work with the defense team and the court to schedule a hearing date.

If a judge accepts the new sentence proposed by the district attorney’s office, the matter would be left to a state parole board to determine whether the brothers are suitable for parole and release from prison. If the board grants parole, the governor could still reject it.

Gascón announced his decision at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

“We are going to recommend to the court (on Friday) that they lift their life sentences without the possibility of parole and convict them of murder,” Gascón said. “I think they have paid their debt to society,” he said. “The final decision will be made by the judge.”

Gascón said part of his decision was based on a review of how the brothers have behaved in prison. Even faced with the possibility of life in prison, they avoided misconduct or joining gangs and instead worked to help their fellow inmates improve their lives, he said. For example, they worked to create groups to help inmates deal with untreated trauma and other groups to help inmates with physical disabilities. Lyle also helped advocate for better living conditions for inmates, he said.

The brothers themselves and other family members were not notified of his decision in advance, so they likely would have learned the news by watching his televised press conference. He said he made the decision just an hour before the news conference began.

Gascón is currently embroiled in a re-election battle against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, who issued a written statement questioning the timing of the decision so close to the election:

“District Attorney George Gascon received Menéndez’s habeas corpus petition in May 2023 and the resentencing request in February 2024. However, he has waited until days before the November 5 elections, 30 points less in polls with articles about how his failed policies have led to more murders of innocent people, to make public his recommendation for a new sentence. By publishing it now, Gascón has cast a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of his decision, allowing Angelenos. question whether the decision was right and fair or just another desperate political move by a district attorney running a losing campaign striving to grab headlines through a made-for-TV decision Angelenos and everyone involved deserve better. “.

During his press conference, Gascón declined to answer questions from reporters specifically about how the decision relates to his campaign.

But when asked what would happen if he loses the election and his successor has a different view of the case, Gascón said it shouldn’t make any difference because once his office presents its position, the matter is in the court’s hands. The district attorney’s office expects to file the lawsuit in court on Friday and hopes to be on the court docket in the next 30 to 45 days. The election is November 5.

Attorney Mark Geragos, who represents members of the Menendez family who support the brothers’ release, said a detailed plan has been formulated (and shared with the district attorney’s office) for their re-entry into society if they are released. . He did not provide details of the plan for security reasons, but noted that both brothers are married to wives who earn a living. Both brothers are also enrolled in college programs: Lyle in a master’s program and Erik in a bachelor’s degree.

He remains optimistic that they could be home by Thanksgiving.

The family is united behind one idea, Geragos said: “Which is to bring them home. Bring them home. Enough is enough.”

The Beverly Hills Police Department, which investigated the 1989 murder, issued a statement that neither praised nor criticized the district attorney’s position, but noted that its agency was not involved in the decision.

“Today’s decision to recommend a resentencing was made entirely by the Los Angeles County District Attorney. The District Attorney’s Office did not consult or contact BHPD regarding this decision. As the investigating agency on the case, “BHPD presented relevant facts and evidence to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which resulted in the filing of criminal charges at that time.”

The decades-old case began on August 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, used shotguns they purchased days earlier.

Prosecutors alleged that the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.

The defense argued that the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.

RELATED: New audio released of Menendez brothers behind bars as DA says he will review new evidence

His first trials, which captured the nation’s attention with cameras in the courtroom, ended in mistrials.

In 1996, at the end of a second trial, in which the judge threw out much of the evidence of sexual abuse, the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The sensational case gained new attention this fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”

SEE ALSO: The Menéndez brothers’ uncle says they should not be released

Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: accusations from a member of the Menudo boy band who said José Menéndez had sexually abused him, and a letter that Erik Menéndez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders. detailing his alleged abuse.

Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter, which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony, was not unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.

Nearly two dozen relatives of the brothers joined together at a news conference last week to push for their new sentencing.

RELATED: Relatives of the Menéndez brothers speak at a press conference calling for their release from prison

“His actions, although tragic, were the desperate response of two children trying to survive their father’s unspeakable cruelty,” said Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen. “As their aunt, I had no idea the extent of the abuse they suffered.”

“It is time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past,” he said.

Behind bars, the brothers “sought to better themselves and serve as support and inspiration for survivors around the world,” added José Menéndez’s niece, Anamaría Baralt. “His continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose.”

The siblings “deserve a chance to heal and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Baralt said.

Despite the massive show of support, a relative, the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen, is adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said in a statement that he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.

ABC News, City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.